The dilemma
by Scorpina
Summary: Shortly after the martial artists were saved by Amai Mask, things go back to rather a normal state. Or so they thought. Something happened back at the lab that has Garou and the family very concerned. the clone of Boros is also up to something. Worst still, neither Garou nor Melee have recovered yet...
1. Chapter 1

The Dilemma

Chapter 1

This fiasco managed to quite down for a month. Yet Alley was in no mood to savor the silence as it where. She has started taking the Association more seriously than ever before. 106 has to be stopped, killed and destroyed once and for all. However she knows it has to be done carefully.

It was that, she called a family meeting. With the exception of her mother and Snek who were both still out of commission, Alley turned to her family and announced. "We cannot let him see he's gotten to us." She said. "I've been running scared for this past month or so, but NO MORE!"

The family was in agreement. "He's planning something, but I don't think he is going to make a move just yet," explained Pac. "He wants mom and dad out of the picture, it's better to get them both at the same time than one at a time isn't it?"

"Bingo," said their father. "He knows if either one of us falls, the other will set off. Like a powder keg, he won't be able to deal with an enraged being like us. Still, I am not fully healed. I know it, your mother still isn't well. Until we can purge whatever the hell he put into us, we're only at half strength. If that."

"It's better than no strength at all," said Alley.

"How's Snek?" asked Max. "He hasn't woken up yet has he?"

"He has and he hasn't. There's time where I swear he is sleep walking. Somehow he has left the Association and yet always returned to rest. It maybe his monster side hunting, I can't really say for sure." She explained.

"Perhaps his instincts drive him…" said Boros offhandedly. "Mother, I mean no disrespect to your cause, but my I please be excused?"

Alley paused for a moment. She hasn't seen much of Boros as of late, but he only said he was working on something very important. However, she understood how one could get drawn into a passion project and nodded her approval. "Go ahead Boros, will we see you around dinner time?"

"I will try, I am nearly done my project. As well I have been making observations as of late. Have you noticed or pick up anything strange within the atmosphere?" he asked.

Alley was rather confused. "Are you registering something within space?"

"I don't know for certain, yet I suggest it gets looked into immediately, for now. I wish to return to my project."

She nodded. Boros smiled as he powered up, turning nearly white before using his meteoric burst power to rush out of the association! "I thought he didn't use that since it shortens his life!" protested Suiryu.

"No, we learned the reason why it did that before was because he hardly ever used it. It's like a muscle. He uses it in short spurts and grows stronger after each use."

"Is that really a good idea to be teaching him how to use that?" asked Max.

"Meh, it was something to do at the time…" Garou muttered. "Besides, with that kind of strength he could have destroyed half the continent by now if he chose to. Instead, he hasn't. He's been rather constructive to say the least…"

"I noticed that too, first Bun-Bun and now he is working on a new project, Boros hasn't even told me what he was making!" But she paused for a moment and realized he maybe trying to warn her of something. With that, she excused herself from the family, yet before she could leave the room, someone else came in.

"Hey… everyone's here huh…"

"SNEK!" Alley couldn't stop herself as she hugged him tightly. "Snek, are you okay? How do you feel?" she asked.

He was rubbing his head oddly. "Used…" he muttered. "I still feel like shit and I'm still tired… I want to go home."

"We'll take you back Snek, that's no problem. Did you want to hunt before going back to sleep?" asked Suiryu.

"Not feeling hungry yet either, I just want to nap… wait… Drax… DRAX!"

"He's okay." Alley insisted. "He got a concussion but is doing fine. He's been with Amai ever since. In fact, Amai is trying to convince him to leave the Neo Heroes. Quite frankly, I want to encourage that."

"Huh…" Snek muttered.

"He was abandoned by a squad when the mysterious being that was kidnapping people got confronted. Drax tried to coordinate them but they refused. When he got knocked down, they abandoned him." Explained Draven. "Amai told us the moment he learned the truth, it was how 106 was able to get to him."

Snek began to puff up in anger. "Those assholes!"

"But!" Called Garou. "This should be Drax's choice."

"Besides, that squad got fired too." Said Pac. "Bad was there when the squad got canned."

"Anyway, enough chit chat! Let's get Snek home!"

#

Alley went on her way to the communications room.

There she found the top people from the Heroes Association going over data and other information. There was one who she counted on the most. He was a bearded man and yet she never heard him speak his name. She came up beside him and asked. "Have you noticed anything odd?"

He jolted a little, started by her sudden presence. "Oh, Alley, sorry. Yeah… I was going to call you on this. I am picking up strange signals through this device you have me on. I can't quite understand it, yet the machine is responding to it. It's like a ping or something…"

"A Ping… you mean someone or something is trying to communicate with us?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I do know this… it's not from our solar system."

Was this was Boros was referring to? Did he pick up this signal however didn't answer it? Alley paused and began to think. "Has any sort of signal like this come up before, say when the Dark Matter Thieves came to earth?" she asked.

He shook his head. "They sent off no signal, but we also didn't have the technology that we do now. This could be a pin to locate something… or someone." He explained. This his eyes set on Alley. "How do you want to go about with this?"

There must be something going on, the fact that they are registering a signal like this only means that there is something out there, it's located them and is coming to earth. But she doesn't know if it is friend or foe…

"Keep observation for now, if the ping gets more aggressive or something is attempting communication, alert me at once. Please," she said.

He gave a nod. "Will do Miss Brawler!"

She left that moment, a ping from deep space could only mean one thing in her mind. Boros didn't just have a single ship under his command! But for that, she would need to ask and speak with him about it. Perhaps this conversation should occur at dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was an eventful month to say the least for Amai.

He took time off to tend to Drax, at the same time, he has been attempting to work his charm in convincing him to leave the Neo Heroes. After everything that has happened, it wasn't the most ideal place for Drax to become a hero. "I am certain Alley would take you in a heartbeat." He said one day over lunch. He kept things rather low key, they did go out however he made certain that people left them alone so they could sit and talk. His fans are ravenous, however they know better than to disrupt their idol when he is out and about.

Drax was toying with his hamburger, thinking over what Amai said. "I want to… but I don't feel like I should." He muttered and took a bite. "Don't get me wrong…" he said with his cheeks full of food, he was quick to swallow and explain his reason. "I heard the squad got fired, they were the real pain in my ass, the Neo Heroes have been good to me…"

"They are inexperienced, ill prepared, messed up excuses who don't even deserve the right to call themselves heroes!" Amai protested. "If they were, this never would have happened. You should have been with someone more experienced than this. That was THEIR doing, THEIR mistake!" he said with a hiss to his tone. He did realize he went a little overboard on the anger as he saw his veins peer out from his arms, he also felt them build around his eyes.

Drax froze and stared at him fearfully. "Amai…"

"Sorry… I'm sorry, I got carried away there…" he settled down, and regained his composure. "Drax… I am trying to see it from your perspective. You have respect there, I understand that, your own squad who are improving because they want to be on your level… rather humorous if you think about it. It reminds me of the Fubuki group!"

He wasn't laughing. "They worked hard on being heroes, they are training so that the brunt of the work isn't on me. I got respect for them for doing that!"

Sweet Mask paused, realizing he had upset him. "Ah, I see…" he said gently.

"I get it that you are worried about me, dad is too. Alley even spoke to me about leaving the Neo Heroes when I came too. But the fact remains is… I want to be a Neo hero now… I earned respect there, it wasn't handed to me on a silver platter because of who my dad is and who adopted me." He said. Drax paused. "Amai…" he said in a slightly scared tone.

"Yes?"

He looked about at first to ensure no one was around, the restaurant they ate at was empty and not a soul was seen on the streets oddly enough. With that, Drax took a deep breath, leaned and whispered. "You knew those mysterious beings you fought after saving dad and I… they were the kidnapped people, right?"

He paused to the question, such a look of fear came over his eyes. Did he scare Drax with his actions? At first, he didn't know how to explain himself. Then again, there was no other way. "Yes," he said. "I knew."

The boy's face went white. "How… how could you?" he whispered, he was disgusted and disturbed by the notion.

"You need to understand, there wasn't anything that could have been done." He explained. "I encountered some outside of the facility as well. What humanity they possessed was gone, they came at me with everything they had. There was no choice,"

Drax then stared him in the eyes. "Did you try to reason with them?" he questioned.

Amai smiled warmly to him. "Drax… how many people don't know who I am?" he questioned. The boy froze as he thought it over. There is no one in this world that didn't know Amai Mask when they see him. He himself is more aware of that than anyone else! "Despite the fact, if they knew who I was, why did they still attack me?"

There was no answer from him. Drax slinked down in his chair. "There's nothing that could have been done to save them… was there?"

"Sometimes being a hero is the most difficult job in the world."

"You mean it isn't?"

Amai smirked. "Wait until you become a father!"

#

The rest of the day, the two took in the city, they did a little bit of shopping before going to the Association to check on everyone. Drax was insisting they see his father. "He hasn't woken up yet, at least, I don't think he has."

Amai however has been told differently… he's also seen differently too.

It was just two weeks ago. He was working late at night when a monster threat was called in. 2am if he remembers correctly. Amai went to confront the beast that happened to be just out of the city limits near the base. However, by the time he arrived. He found Snek of all people already subduing the fiend! However, as Snek was choking the life from it, Amai realized something wasn't quite right. There was a crazed look in the eyes of the former A Class hero. When his sights turned to Amai, he acted more monster like. No words came from his mouth, just an aggressive hiss. He torques the beast in his coils snapping the neck before quickly devouring it. He had never seen him eat so fast and so… desperately in a sense.

Snek wasn't himself, even after the meal he turned and glared at Amai oddly, as if he made him on edge.

"Amai?"

He shook his head of the thought as he peered to Drax. "You okay? You're lost in thought aren't you?"

He smiled. "Just a little, but I do believe we should check on your father and see how he is doing."

Yet as they walked the halls, something caught his attention. He found Garou out and about, asking around but all the other heroes were startled and quickly refused. "DAMN IT!" he roared.

Then, his eyes came to Amai. A twisted grin followed as he was quick to approach.

Sweet Mask didn't like the look on his face. "Garou…" he said with great reluctance.

"You… me… let's spar!" he insisted.

It took him aback. "Wait… just a moment, you want to have a mock battle with me?" he asked. "I don't think you have fully recovered yet, last I checked…"

"Do you want a chance to possibly kick my ass or not?"

Ah, it was an offer he couldn't refuse. One of the few times he could possibly beat the Human Monsters as it were. A sly grin crept over Amai's face. "Where?"

Garou smiled back…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Melee couldn't bring to get herself out of bed. Then again, she hasn't really tried to. Whatever was injected into her took its toll and continues to do so, but mainly, she hasn't gotten the will to fight it. She could only think about her brothers, and just like the time before, she never got the chance to say good-bye or tell them, how much she loved them.

As she lay there, Melee sighed to it all. "Mom?"

She paused and peered up at her son Draven. He took a seat at the edge of her bed. "Hey mom… how are you feeling today?"

"Oh… about the same as before…" she said and slowly sat herself up in the bed. "I feel like I have lost the will to fight anything anymore."

Draven nodded. "I get it," he said. "I mean, I would be devastated if I lost Goliath… my own twin brother. If something happened to Hunter and Pac… I would lose my role models and guides…"

She nodded to him. "I just… I just don't understand why this keep happening." She said. "I want to protect my family, I want to keep everyone safe but how can I? No matter how hard your father and I try…" she paused as the tears began to build up in her eyes. "Goliath, I failed as a mother…"

"Like hell you have!" he protested. "Mom… LOOK AT US!" he demanded. "I'm the son of the Human Monster, and I am a Brawler!" he said loud and proudly. "I wouldn't give this up for anything or anyone! Hell, I don't even care that I am not human anymore. I love being me!"

She paused oddly. "You… are the first to ever say that," she whispered.

His arms crossed as a smug look came over him. "I may not be much, but I am proud of what I can do, I can help a lot of people, not many can do that now can they?" he questioned. "I am working on my taste for coffee, also this maybe influenced by Snek, but I don't accept this bullshit of you being a bad mother. How many moms do you know would teach their kids about their power, let them learn and make mistakes? Those who come after us are not your doing, you didn't invite them into our lives."

Melee nodded, he was right. Despite it though, because of what they are, she should have been more careful with the children and how they got involved in this. "Draven, I just wished I had prepared everyone better for this."

He looked to his mother with a curious expression. "Oh? Did you KNOW this was going to happen?" he asked.

"Well… no…"

"Then how could you have prepared us better?" He began to laugh a little. "You want to do everything for us, to ensure that we understand and know what may lurk around the corner. But the fact remains, we have no idea what is going to happen. Not unless we practice future vision… I'm not by the way, it takes the fun out of everything. Also what if I see something I don't want to see, and then dread how I would be helpless to stop it! No thanks!"

"My God you do channel Snek well!" she laughed.

Draven gave a coy smirk, worthy of the man himself. "Yeah well…"

Suddenly, the whole place began to tremble. Draven froze, as did Melee. "What the hell was that?!" she demanded.

Draven helped her to her feet and assisted her. There was an alarm going on in the sparring room. "We better go see what it is, I got a feeling though…" Draven muttered.

They arrived as other heroes gathered around. "Let us through!" Draven shouted.

The masses parted, Melee could just see through the one window and saw Garou was fighting Amai! "GAROU"

She broke free from her son's arms, Melee wrenched open the doors as Garou was struck hard! He flew into the walls and caused another tremor.

Melee snapped.

Her speed suddenly spiked as she rushed in and decked Amai!

The heroes cringed as he heard the sickening splat of a human body hit the far wall. Amai slowly slide down from the strike before appearing dazed to the blow. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING!" she demanded of him.

He was quick to recover and tried to explain himself. "Garou wanted to…"

"HE'S NOT WELL ASSHOLE! AND YET YOU WENT ON WITH THE FIGHT!" she roared.

Garou then appeared to come around, the last blow knocked him a little loopy, but then he appeared sick. He turned to his side and was throwing up black bile once more. "Garou!"

He cleared it from his lip before turning to Melee. "It's okay… I'm okay…" he insisted, yet as he tried to stand, his legs quivered on him. The purge weakened him each and every time.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded. But then suddenly, her legs buckled.

She nearly fell to the ground but was caught by Amai in the nick of time. "Ease does it now Melee, you are in no condition either to be picking a fight."

"Verbal ones I can manage." She muttered. As she was brought to her feet once more, her glare came on to Garou. "I thought we agreed, you don't push yourself until you're well again!"

"I have to!" he protested. "It's the only way I know how to get strong again. I have, to protect our family!" he protested. He was battered, bloodied and stood on shaky legs, however, Melee couldn't help but admire his determination. It also frustrated her that he was working so hard to gain his strength back.

Yet she hasn't done anything of the sort

"So do I!" she snapped back. "You are not the sole guardian of our family. We are in this together, you asshole!" Yet paused as Garou stared at her almost hurt by her words. "I'm sorry. But I know better than to go at it with my all when I cannot! I don't have that kind of tenacity to do so."

Suddenly her stomach churned, she felt the bile building up her throat. "Oh God…" pulling herself from Amai's arms, she landed on her hands and knees as she became physically ill once more. It was never a pleasant sensation. She felt her whole body revolt against her, the purge made her weak once more as she could barely keep herself up.

"MOM!" Draven rushed in as she collapsed to her side. "Mom! MOM!"

"I'm…. okay…" she said weakly.

She hated this feeling, a state of helplessness. If someone had wanted to, she would be as good as dead if they felt obliging. She turned to look at Garou, when his eyes suddenly rolled back. Draven caught him before he hit the ground.

Melee couldn't keep her eyes open…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Genus was fascinated.

Well, not just fascinated, more along the lines of disturbed in a sense. He has been examining the injection given to Melee and Garou for a month now. Despite his best efforts, he has found that it was difficult to study. As the serum mixed into the blood of the couple, he found it contained different effects compared to each other. "How is this possible?" he wondered aloud.

"It's as if it is attacking a certain gene within the body, perhaps it is a chain reaction, that gene triggers something else within…" he has tried to study the serum up close but couldn't extract it from the blood. It has bounded itself to the cells and refuses to relinquish its hold. "This is beyond anything I could imagine, however… what was he hoping to achieve? Is this… Is this isolating the healing factor both Melee and Garou possess?"

He began to type, study and examine the samples, trying to find which part of the DNA it has smothered and why it refuses to let go. "If this is indeed the case, all that is needed is to find a way to remove the serum off the DNA… but to find the part of it, that it is latched to is going to be the key to all of this…"

"Dr. Genus?"

He paused from his work as he turned and saw Alley enter the lab. "Any progress?"

"Partly. For the past month I have been researching into the serum, but I have also taken time to go over the blood of Suiryu and Max to ensure there were no complications. Snek's blood, I have concerns over."

"Is something wrong?" she asked, her tone spiked with worry. Genus tried to keep a calm tone but sometimes his voice speaks in far greater volumes than it should.

"Not exactly wrong… but abnormalities." He explained. "I am trying to understand the full story as to what happened to Snek when he was imprisoned by 106. According to Max and Suiryu, he tried to get them to mate. He must have done the same to Snek, and yet I wonder why thought. Suiryu and Max explained their containment cells were side by side. Snek's was on the other side of the base from what has been told. It was as if he were the target in the first place. But why?"

Alley appeared confused too. "I have to agree with you Doctor. Snek was the target, but as you said. Why? Also what's the abnormality in his blood?" she asked.

Genus excused himself as he went to a table on the other side of the room. There he kept a vile of the blood in question. "I have analyzed this and compared it to the others and the samples you yourself kept Miss Brawler. I found that the hormone level has altered."

"Well, they were breathing in a large amount of pheromones…" she said.

"Indeed, but Max and Suiryu did have any changes to their blood. A scent doesn't quite enter the blood stream with the exception of this, yet by the time I drew blood it was gone from their system. Suiryu wasn't even affected by it due to his commitment to you. Max was but has since overcame it. Snek… Snek's is still different."

Alley decided to take a closer look herself. Genus left slides and charts as to what has changed in the body of the serpent man. When Alley finished reading it, she was just as confused as he was. "It doesn't make sense" she said aloud. "I mean… What the hell is this doing in his bloodstream?!"

"That is the question, the second one is, what is it doing to him as well."

Alley sighed. "I really don't need this right now. I got enough on my plate as it is!"

"Indeed,"

"I do need to thank you for having the Triplets stay with your kids as we got thing settled…"

"My pleasure, I should warn you, those play dates are going to become a little awkward for them. Jason, Gene and Misty are growing. They grew two inches last week, but I find their minds are maturing rapidly. I fear they will be teenagers in a few weeks."

"Really?"

"Indeed, their minds have taken in all they could at this age, when they wish to grow in knowledge, they grow in maturity to obtain it. They will stop aging when they appear 25 years old. I find that is a rather perfect age, not too old, not too young either. However… they told me how difficult it would be for them. After all, they want to grow up with your siblings…"

Alley nodded to the news. "My siblings and I all grew up when stress was introduced into our environment. I can't say the trips have been stressed out, but this may do it for them." She said.

"Either way, if they do grow older and catch up, my children will be there waiting to greet them." He said with a smile, but it was quick to vanished as he turned back to the file in Alley's hand. "For now, I believe we need to take a good look at Snek, just to be certain nothing has happened to him. If you wish to handle that, I will get back to this serum and try and deconstruct it."

Alley nodded in agreement. However she paused before turning to leave. "Genus… what if it is what I think it is with Snek…"

He took a deep breath and appeared rather baffled to say the least. "Well then, we better have options…"

#

Alley walked out of the lab, however the report she read haunted her. She couldn't understand why it did, but perhaps there was a mistake, or Snek is taking a longer time getting whatever the hell he breathed in out of his system.

Yet just as Alley was about to got and check communications on the odd ping sounds they were getting, she found Boros had returned. "Boros!" she called.

"Mother, I am sorry I am just here to get something to eat and going out again" he insisted.

"I understand but one question, where there any other fleets in the Dark Matter Thieves, do you remember?" she asked.

He paused for a moment and thought it over. "If old memory serves me correctly there was. The main fleet went in to defeat the legions of the planet, then another ship would come in and strip it of its resources. However there were other fleets but they didn't quite remain with the main ship Dark Matter," he explained. Then his eyes widened. "They took years to reach the planet after the original was done with it… nearly 10 years depending on the last planet they went to and what was to be taken…"

"In other words…" she muttered.

"The scrapping ship is approaching…" Boros began to think. "We have to stall or even cancel this trek to earth, perhaps I should establish communication with them and call off their advancement?"

"Do you think it would work?"

"I may, I am Lord Boros after all!" he stated. "Let me get some nourishment and I will assist you quick with this, I do not have the time to waste…"

Alley was getting concerned now. "What are you doing?" she asked. "You've been so busy for the past month, you haven't stopped, I don't see you much… is everything okay?"

"Yes, mother. Everything is fine, I just have a small window of opportunity and if I do not succeed, then I have failed once more and I do not wish to do so again!" he announced.

He rushed to the cafeteria, with that Alley ran up to communications where the pinging was getting louder and more abrupt. "We are receiving messages, but we cannot read them!"

"Who can read this!?"

Alley made her way forward and looked over the writing. "It's alien, I got this." She announced as her third eye opened. She began to read the message. "Dark Matter, respond immediately. Lord Boros, respond to this message. We have received transmission of failed take over of planet, indicate you are alive at once." She said.

She began to write back the message. "Boros, Lord of the Dark Matter Thieves. Ship destroyed, but other means of transportation are available, will be departing planet soon. Lone survivor. Do not engage planet, repeat, do not engage planet" and responded.

The room held its breath as Alley waited for the reply. She was relieved to read out just one single word. "Acknowledged." She announced and the room fell into a collective sigh of relief.

"Okay now we got to make a fake ship in case these guys are keeping and eye on this planet for Boros…" she muttered.

However she turned to the room. "Do not lower your guard on this!" she announced. "Just because we have receive a message of acknowledgement, does not mean the issue is resolved"

"Mother is right." Called Boros as he walked into the room. He paused and looked over the communication. "Just as I suspected, Nova Purge…" he said.

"Nova Purge?" the room whispered.

"Indeed, this is the crew that came after my conquests to strip the planet of everything with value. Water, food, resources. They are not as strong as my crew, but if given the chance to fight they will and put up a good one." He warned. He turned to Alley. "Mother, be on high alert, despite the response they have been known to disobey. There were some planets I sought to spare in my past life, when I left, they went in and still stripped it of everything…"

Alley glared at the screen. "Son of a bitch…" she muttered.

"I will fight with you, no hesitation. I just pray they leave us alone…" with that he sighed aloud. "I need to go back to my project."

"Go ahead, be careful"

He merely smiled before vanishing without a trace. "He's gotten so much faster, I blink and he's gone!" said the bearded associate.

"He has gotten faster and he made certain that his speed does not kick up a wind storm like it normally does," Alley explained.

For now she can only keep an eye on the situation. Her focus shifted back to Snek. But first, she will return to her old lab and make a device that would be better suited to assess in this situation…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was good to be home.

Max stretched himself out as he walked over the threshold of the Dragon's keep. Granted, despite the fact this wasn't really HIS home, it certainly felt like it. Snek slithered by the two of them and went right to his room. The door closed as he was out like a light. "This isn't natural for him…" whispered Suiryu. "I mean, he's been asleep ever since we got out of that hellhole…"

"Yeah, he would at least be hungry by now wouldn't he?" Max said.

The two decided to remain home for the most part. Max made dinner and plenty of it in case Garou's kids came back. Much to his surprise though, the whole family returned home again. Even Melee and Garou! "I want to sleep in my own damn bed!" Garou announced.

"Shhh, Snek!" protested Suiryu.

He rolled his eyes to it all. "Sorry, but I am sick of sleeping at the Association and having the heroes stare at me." He muttered. "Besides… I heal better at home."

Goliath returned next with the Triplets who were once more passed out. Luna and Eclipsa were on each of his shoulders while Akira was asleep on his tail. "I'll get these three to bed and join you soon enough." He whispered. Slowly the house began to fill up once more. Everyone was back where they belong, even Drax! With that a big dinner was made, eaten and the house came to settle back into a somewhat normal routine.

That is until night fell.

#

Max tossed and turned as so much came to his mind. He was worried for what happened recently, and also the events that followed.

Snek remained asleep all day was unsettling enough, but then his mind began to drift.

God only knows what he's been through, and yet there was a concern in the family, the fact that Amai Mask himself brought up the notion to make everyone aware of the situation. Shortly after taking down 106's base, Amai came to the Association and explained what he saw there.

"When I found Snek, he was in a room with a clone of Angela, who was made to look like her in serpent form… She was about to kill Drax until I interfered." He explained. Yet he paused. "Consider this, why did they make such an abomination and place it in the same room as Snek?"

No one had to say a word about it, it was clear as day to say the least, yet no one knew if anything happened in that amount of time. It wouldn't be possible… would it?

Max sighed to it all, it was one damn thing after another with this asshole. No matter which way they turn, peace in the house was few and far between now a day. He was optimistic though, Amai must have stopped something before it happened. Suiryu saved Max himself from the same fate. The damn clone nearly got Max too, yet whatever they were using on him to force him to mate wore off rather quickly the moment fresh air pumped into the room. "We will keep an eye on Snek, for now, let the man rest." Garou declared.

With that settled, the family went to bed and tried to sleep off the day. As difficult as it was.

Sleep didn't come easy to Max at all either. Despite the time away from the hellhole he was forced in, there were aspects he couldn't shake off. He tossed and turned and still battled these urges within himself to procreate, but they were quickly fading. He sat up in his bed and tried to think over why was this happening? Why was 106 after them for breeding? What was the purpose? He may not be a full monster to say the least, yet why waste resources and a testing facility on him and the others?

It made no sense.

With a sigh, he decided he needed a drink.

Venturing out of bed, Max stretched himself as he reached the kitchen, he just got a glass of water when he heard a door near by open. Then the sound of scales scraping against the floor followed. "Oh Snek, hey, sorry if I woke you…" Max whispered.

Snek did emerge from his room, but he appeared out of it. His eyes were wild as he merely hissed at him before moving along. Why was he going out the front door? "Snek? Man, it's too dark to hunt!" Max protested, but he was gone. Snek went off to hunt and it's not like him the least bit.

Everyone knows, despite the destructive notions monsters can accomplish at night, the day time is preferred since more people are out and can be killed. However, that doesn't mean there aren't monsters that prefer the nightlife, some of the viler ones emerge in the darkness. With a sigh, Max decided to tag along with Snek to ensure he stays safe.

He appeared to be a man serpent on a mission to say the least. He made his way down the mountain and began to take in the scent of the air. Something instantly caught his attention as he went into hunting mode. Max knew better, he stayed down wind and at a good distance to ensure his friend wouldn't accidentally strike him. Taking to his tried and true method of travel, Max went on to the power lines and kept pace from there. Snek went all over town taking down monsters. It didn't matter the size at first, small ones, wolf threats if that were consumed with rather greedy intentions, yet as the night wore on, Snek continued to hunt, and yet his methods were changing. He didn't use his full body to coil around his prey, merely his arms at best and a half coil. He ensured there was distance between his prey and near the lower half of his body. "This is odd, even for him…" Max muttered.

He sought greater prey. Yet Snek was having difficulty taking it down since he refused to use every inch of himself. Max decided to step him when there was one monster that gave him trouble. A quick burst of electricity was enough to kill it, Snek nearly went to eat it when Max had to stop him. "WHOA!" he called.

A defiant hiss came out of Snek, he was angry being denied his meal. Max however kept calm as he revealed his tentacles at the side of his body. He latched them on to the beast and took what remaining electricity from the body. After, he cautiously backed off. Snek continued to glare at him, until his eyes set on the beast.

There was no hesitation for him to eat, and yet with the events of the night, Max wondered how he could consume so much! "Snek… are you okay? I've followed you all night. You ate 8 wolf threats, four tigers and a demon…"

He got no answer from his friend, instead he moved on once more in search of more prey.

#

Max stayed up all night with him. When Snek finally finished it was 6am. He was still able to slither up the stairs and back to his room without much of an incident.

Max however felt dead on his feet!

He retreated to his room and collapsed into bed, he finally gained some sleep, but this wouldn't be the last time he joins his friend for a very late night hunt…

#

Two weeks.

It went on for two weeks and each night was worst than the one before. Max tried to keep it together, he even told Garou about it all when asked what should be done. Yet Garou shrugged his shoulders and said. "Snek can take care of himself, he wants to hunt at night so be it."

"After what's happened, you think it's smart to let him hunt alone?" Max demanded.

"But he hasn't now… has he?" Garou questioned with a coy grin on his face. "You've been with him, he's in good hands…"

"Why the hell is it me that has to go with him!"

"You beat me to the punch the first night. I heard him leave, but I also heard you get up. Any chance I get to sleep in, I am taking it damn it!"

"Garou, be serious!"

He rolled his eyes. "Look, I am having a hard enough recovering, same with Melee! Snek can be your job for the time being, all you are doing is helping him hunt."

Max sighed in defeat. Garou did have a point. He reluctantly agreed to look out for Snek. It was still annoying as hell to do it!

#

He began to keep track of his diet.

Every night, Max brought along a notebook and recorded the kills. He has nearly filled a small one with everything that was hunted and consumed by Snek. Which only made him concerned. "Did something happen to him?" Max wondered as he kept a close eye on his friend.

He was grateful though, Snek has recognized him as a friend and not a threat. There were silent signals give to Max if he required assistance. Max read them well enough to understand what was needed. Sometimes it would be a distraction, other times to trap and corner potential prey. But mainly, when the monster is too big and he can't bring himself to coil around it, Max would finish it off.

He has been seeking out much larger forms of prey as of late. Max kept a far closer eye on him as the monsters he ate at night began to become difficult to handle. For one, he was eating more than enough. Second, normally one makes him full. Since when did he need seven!? Third, he is starting to feel sluggish once satisfied. Max couldn't carry him up the stairs even if he tried. Not to mention he has no idea how Snek calls for the drone during the day for pick up when he is coherent. Yet after that second and final week, the night hunts stopped.

Max woke late afternoon, with a yawn and a stretched he crept out of his room, only to pause and see Snek in the living room, watching TV. "Since when the hell do you sleep in!?" He demanded of him.

"Since when the hell did you start talking like yourself again!" Max snapped back.

It confused him. "What do you mean?" Snek demanded. "I've always talked like this!"

Max yawned as he ventured to the kitchen. "For the past two weeks, you've said nothing but hisses. Freaked me right out…" He put on a pot of coffee. He needed this badly to shake off the sleep. When finished, Max poured himself a massive cup and drank it without anything in it. "Wanna cup?"

"Nah, not in the mood."

He froze. Max paused oddly as he stared at his friend. "Have you had a coffee today?"

"No, it smells off to me. I think Melee switched it out for something new."

Curious, Max checked the cupboards. It was the same brand they always get, since Snek insisted on it. "She hasn't…" he said aloud. "This isn't like you man. You haven't had a coffee over two weeks! Well one month and two weeks."

"Impossible!" he protested. "I can't go a few hours without one, you know that!"

"Yeah, how long ago has it been since you woke up?"

He thought it over. "Uh… I guess four hours."

"Not a single cup…"

"Guess… not…" Now Snek was getting concerned! "Damn, when was the last time I had a coffee? Come to think of it… why am I not craving it now?"

"I think… we need to make sure this clone hasn't delayed something in all of us… We need to speak with Alley, got to the lab and figure this out."

Snek paused, however he eventually nodded in agreement.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Snek couldn't say he had a restful sleep, his mind was racing with everything that happened. And yet, there were still parts of his memory that were fogged up. "What the hell happened to me? What did I do?" he muttered to himself. But it didn't matter for the moment, he woke up rather hungry and needed to eat. Checking his phone, he was rather surprised that it was 10:30am. Normally he was up a lot earlier than this!

Slithering from the room, he paused as the younger set of triplets noticed him. "SNEK!" they cheered and rushed over to hug him. "Are you feeling better?" Luna asked.

He smiled to her. "A little, but I am hungry and am going out to eat."

"When we get older, we're going to help you!" stated Akira.

"We will help you catch big monsters," proclaimed Eclipsa.

"That's sweet of you three, for now, I can do this on my own." The kids let him go as he went on his way. His stomach was really acting up today, he has never felt this hungry before. "Better find something soon, this is the worst gnawing pain I've felt in a while."

#

He would be gone most of the morning. Despite everything he takes down, it still wasn't enough to satisfy him. Luckily, there were more than enough monsters. There was a bit of a rampage today in city L, the Neo Heroes had their hands full and weren't able to keep up. Despite the fact that they themselves don't approve of Snek, they didn't refuse the help either. He could take down many tiger threats at once, coiling and strangling four at a time! He ate them just as quickly, but found they were not keeping him full. "I need more? That's like eight today!" Snek muttered to himself.

He would keep hunting until he felt the relief he sought. However, he spent the whole morning trying to obtain the sensation of feeling full. It would be 1:45 in the afternoon when he found something large enough to keep him satisfied. Yet even Snek knew this wasn't right, nor natural for him to go on a binge like this. "Something happened to me…" he muttered.

Heading home, he decided to just rest off his meals. Stranger still was how it felt. It remained him of the first time Garou took him hunting when he became the serpent monster he is now. How he ate twenty deer and yet, the moment they hit his stomach, they were digested rather instantly. This was starting to become very similar. Although not instant, Snek could feel the monster digest rather quickly. It wasn't right in his mind. Despite not eating for some time, he didn't think it would cause him to go on a binge like this.

Once home, he found a note. The triplets were at Genus's Takoyaki shop with his children. Alley was back at the Association along with Pac and Hunter. Goliath was training new heroes within the cities and Draven… no one really knows where he goes. Suiryu was on patrols, Max, Melee and Garou were in the house resting. With a sigh, he decided to go to the living room and watch TV.

Nothing of interest was on, Snek however began to think over what happened to him, what really occurred. A part of his mind was sick with the notion. "I was tricked… and the fact I fell for it!" he muttered. "What the hell was I doing? How could I have fallen for something so stupid?!" he asked himself. But it was all in the past now, there was nothing more to do except move forward.

When Max woke late afternoon and told him of his nightly hunts. Snek nearly didn't believe him. "Wait, I've been hunting at night!?"

"Every day for the past two weeks"

It was getting concerning, even more so when Max made a pot of coffee and he wasn't the least bit interested! Even shortly after realizing something could be wrong, Snek decided to try a cup, but the smell of it revolted him! "Gah!" he protested and placed the cup down. "Why does it smell so bad to me?" he dared to taste it.

The once savory bitterness was replaced with a repugnant and sour sensation across his pallet. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Max was concerned too. "Let me call Alley."

"No, I don't want her to worry about me. Let's just… wait it out. Maybe I did something, or I ate something weird…"

Max paused, however he nodded to Snek and respected his choice. They spent the rest of the day just watching TV, the news was quiet, but they did highlights of hero activities that day. One was Muman Rider as he tracked down a monster on his own. He was able to corner it off, where the Tank Top Army was waiting for it. It was amazing teamwork to say the least, Muman was good at working with everyone and was able to coordinate attacks and relay locations of monsters to everyone.

The Neo Heroes did well too, however there would be a war of words if the Association heroes came in. There was a large hoard of monsters recently, the Neo Heroes had trouble with them, however when Hunter arrived with Jag, the two of them were more than enough to end the rampage and helped stop the threat.

It wasn't well received to say the least. "THIS WASN'T YOUR KILL!" protested Raiden. "We're more than capable of handling this!"

"Yes, you are, we just wanted to end it faster so no one would get killed!" protested Hunter. "You're welcome," he said sharply.

"What's your problem anyways!" demanded Jag. "Are we not in the same fight here? Are we not here to do the same job and keep the people safe?"

"HE'S A MONSTER!" Raiden protested.

"So what?!" Jag snapped back. "He's not killing people, he's helping them! If we got a monster on our side, that's fine with me, the people don't appear to mind either."

"This isn't going to end well either way is it?" muttered Snek.

"They are still on our ass about being monsters. You think they would give it a rest by now?"

Max's phone went off. "Hello?"

Snek tried to listen in but it was a very short call. When he hung up, Max turned to him and sighed. "Alley wants us to go to the lab, her old one, the Metal Knight facility. She wants to run some tests on you."

He sighed but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, something ain't right about me. When does she want us to go?"

"Apparently the whole family is meeting us there…" Max paused as Garou and Melee came from their bedroom.

"What's this? Family meeting at the lab?" asked Melee.

"Yeah, we better get going then. You two can come with me on the drone."

#

They arrived within half an hour.

Snek took in the room and found everyone there… and Amai. "Why the hell is he here?"

"Amai saw some things that helped me determine what may have happened in the lair of 106, I just want to run a few tests to be certain." Alley explained.

"What do you remember? Snek, this could be serious." Asked Amai.

He let off a sigh, as he was about to speak, Alley announced she was ready. Suiryu and Max gave blood samples and did a breathing test to ensure there was nothing embedded in their lungs when they returned from the lair of the clone. She would be using those notes for comparison to Snek. It took little time for her to find the results she needed. "Thanks to Dr. Genus, the immunity to the cell is in perfect working order. So if there was anything in that smoke, it did nothing that way. Amai, I will give you an injection to be safe than sorry."

"Not needed," he insisted. "I am rather immune to many adverse things."

"Suit yourself, but what 106 made can rewrite your genetic code… you want to risk another incident like with Mirror-Mirror?" she asked.

There was a stunned silent look on Amai. He then rolled up his sleeve and offered his arm. Alley was quick, despite the struggle she had to get the needle to break the skin. She got Amai his shot. Now, for the testing. Snek watched from afar as Alley broke down the blood samples of Max and Suiryu, even Amai Mask to be on the safe side.

All who remained was Snek. He was reluctant to even go through with it. "Alley, maybe we are making a big deal out of this, you know I get moody when something happens..." He insisted.

"Please Snek, I have to be sure."

"Dad…" Drax suddenly caught his father's attention. "Please do this… I saw things… something just doesn't seem right. Please, just be sure!"

With a sigh, he nodded. Snek approached Alley and offered his arm. She took a blood sample and ran the tests. The room was rather silent, as Alley appeared to have found something. Her eyes widened and she began to tap in code to her computer. "Is everything okay?" Snek questioned.

"I… don't know yet. Let's do another test. Breath into this." She offered him a modified facemask. Snek did a few strong breaths into it. Once more Alley fell silent.

"Alley?" Melee questioned.

"I need to scan his body."

"You found something didn't you?" asked Amai.

"I have to scan him to be sure."

Snek froze to all of this. Melee could see the look of worry on his face, she approached him cautiously and took hold of his arm. "It's going to be okay." She insisted. "You know Alley wouldn't be concerned over nothing… and she is going to help you."

"That's what has me worried though." He whispered back.

Alley set up a large computer. No one in the family has ever seen it before, and yet on it was a hydraulic screening device! "Alley…" muttered Garou.

"Relax dad, this is a cat scan/xray/ultra sound system for us! I know a lot of us can't use the ones in hospitals. I developed this one," she explained. "Snek, come over here please." He was reluctant, yet with deep breaths he approached. "Stretch yourself out and please keep still." He did. Snek went from one end of the room to the other. Alley was able to set it all up and went from head to tail. She had to walk her own scanner down the length of the room to do a slow and cautious examination. For the first twenty feet, there was nothing. "I see you ate recently," she said with a giggle. Yet continued on. "So far so good." She announced, yet as she got farther down, Alley began to notice something. Near the end of his body, she froze. In fact, the whole family did.

"What is it? What's going on!" he demanded.

Melee appeared as if she wanted to say something, but stopped herself.

Amai however sighed. "The clone succeeded…" as all he could say.

Snek froze as Alley approached him. "You have potentially… uh…" she then trailed off.

However, her little sister Luna was more to the point. She gasped and smiled. "Snek is going to have babies!"

Everyone in the room was mortified; Melee was flushed with embarrassment as Snek stared at everyone. Fear etched on his face as he managed to turn himself around enough to see the scan for himself. Yet, before he could even question it. Luna was already approaching and rubbing the area where the scan picked up the heartbeats. "Hi babies! I'm Luna, I have a sister named Eclipsa and a brother named Akira…"

"Luna…" Garou said gently.

"We're going to be like your big brother and sisters!"

"Luna…" Garou said yet his voice was getting a little sterner.

"Wait daddy, I am introducing myself to the babies," she protested. "You can have a turn when I am done!"

"Out of the mouths of children…" muttered Amai. He turned on the charm as he approached her. "Luna… this isn't a for sure thing. I think we need to let your sister Alley finish here with Snek. There are some… things they have to work out." He said as gently as he could.

"But, I can help! I'm a good helper!" she announced proudly.

"Indeed you are, but sometimes computers can be wrong. Let your sister finish the task at hand… how about this, let's go to my car and see if we can find treats!"

The children's eyes widened with surprise as they rushed to Amai and insisted they check his car for treats. He was quick to leave with them as Snek turned to everyone, scared to death of the discovery.

"I'M PREGNANT!?" he demanded.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

He was terrified, embarrassed and wanted to be sick with himself. That's what's wrong with him… he's carrying the experiment of 106 in his body. He was grateful though that no one in the room was laughing at him. Garou however was the first to speak up. "Could be worst…" he said.

Suddenly the whole room stared at him. "How? How could this possibly be any worst!?" Snek demanded.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Just trying to make you feel better, besides. I've been through this three times. It's no big deal."

"Dad…" sighed Alley. "We don't know the reasoning behind this. Not to mention the real intent of 106's test. I mean if his whole purpose was to get Snek to breed, he succeeded. If that's the case though… why didn't 106 do everything in his power to keep him?"

"You mean the whole purpose was to knock me up!" Snek demanded. "This doesn't even make ANY sense!"

Alley abruptly cleared her throat. "Actually… it does… in a monster perspective." She explained that Metal Knight was doing research on Monster reproduction. Females are rare in the species, and the males are plentiful which means there is constant competition for a female and the opportunity to pass off their genes to the next generation. Males would do acts of strength to impress a mate, if successful. They would breed. "Due to the rarity of a female, the male incubates and tends to the children since after all, rivals will still come by and try to destroy not just him but the offspring as well. It's to save the female who can reproduce again and find a new mate if the one she had failed. It's quite cut throat." She explained. "Yet, if the male succeeds in getting the children to develop and grow strong, then his work is done. When the children are able to see and hunt, they are on their own."

"I don't exactly feel any better about this Alley,"

"I know Snek, I am just trying to explain why you got them and not the female. I mean, look at dad. Dad kept mom contained in his body until she gave birth, after, he held us until we were oddly over grown considering the age we should have been."

"What the hell do I do?" he asked.

"Well… there are options…"

"Options?" asked Drax. "What do you mean?"

"I can ask Dr. Genus to take them out of you. They won't survive to say the least."

Snek thought it over. "Perhaps…"

"Dad!" protested Drax. "You can't just jump on the first idea!"

The room froze as they stared at him oddly. "Excuse me…" he stormed out shortly after, just as Amai returned with the Triplets. It was a good thing he kept candy in his car of such an emergency.

"So, is the matter resolved?" he asked.

"It's in its discussion phase." Alley stated.

Amai didn't like the news. "Really? What more is there to discuss about this? We know the truth… we know the situation, how is it that there isn't a conclusion to the matter?" he demanded. His glare shifted to Snek. "Do I have to remind you what happened? How that thing nearly killed your own son!"

"I don't need to be reminded…" muttered Snek. "But this isn't an easy option for me either way. I either…" yet froze, Snek found himself being stared upon by Luna, Eclipsa and Akira. "I need time." He said.

Amai glared at him, the veins soon return to his face as he said. "Be that as it may, whatever you decide… know I have already made up my mind those… things" he settled himself down, he cleared his throat and announced his leave. "I'll be keeping an eye on this situation…" and left without another word.

"What did he mean by that?" asked Akira. "I don't like the way he spoke just now,"

"Me either, it sounded like he wanted to hurt something really bad…" said Eclipsa.

Luna glared at the door Amai walked out of. "He thinking bad things, isn't he?" she asked. "No one should think bad things about babies…"

#

Snek had to get out of the lab. He was quick to remove himself before Luna and the others began their bombardment of request to help him and wondering what he would be naming the brood. He just got outside and coiled up, he knew this was all a mistake, it was 106 who made this happen, for what reason? He didn't know. "Was I the damn guinea pig?" he asked himself.

He knew what needed to be done, whatever was in him has to go!

"Dad?"

Snek froze as he heard Drax's voice, he looked to him yet turned away embarrassed. "I am not exactly thrilled with this either…" he said.

Drax however had a strange look on his face. "You don't want them… do you?"

"You know why and how these things were made, of course I don't!" he protested. "Why would I?"

Drax sat on the ground before peering out over the land. "I wanted you to know something… despite what the clone of mom did… there was a moment… where it WAS mom." He explained. Snek became all ears as Drax told him after she bit him, she was going to kill him next. "She lifted me up off the ground, her hand was poised to slice me in half if I were to guess. But then… she stopped herself. The crazed look vanished, and then… she looked at me… it was mom's look" he said. "She said my name, confused to what she was doing, then… was killed."

Snek was never told this, not until now. "But she was a clone."

"So were Street and Knuckle." He snapped back.

He got the sense of it now. "You… want them, don't you? You want these things born."

"It was mom… I know it was mom… even for a moment… dad, what you have is a little bit more of her that could be brought back into the world. I don't care that you're a snake man. I don't care that my siblings would be too! I… I don't want to be alone in this world anymore. It's selfish I know, stupid, even more so. But, if we can let a little bit more of mom return…"

He sighed to it all. "I was thinking it too…" he confessed.

Drax stared at his father with great surprise. "Really?!"

"Yeah… it's just how you feel now. We get a little bit more of your mom back, I also don't know what will become of them either. I mean… we could be in for a hell of a battle, if these things aren't what we think they are… and GOD the guys are NEVER going to let me live it down!"

Drax snickered. "Then, we don't tell them!"

Snek glared at his son. "Luna knows… everyone will know the moment she speaks, she can't keep a secret!"

"Oh, right…"

The two sighed. "You know I thought being a serpent man would be the worst thing to ever happen to me, yet the universe tends to enjoy kicking me around doesn't it?"

Drax snickered. "Yeah, this whole family gets its fair share of lumps doesn't it?" But his smile vanished. "Are you sure you want to do this dad? Even if it means we are playing into the hands of that asshole?"

"I think Alley made a valuable point earlier. If 106 wanted this to happen and succeeded… then why didn't he do anything to keep me around if this was his desired result?"

Drax appeared to think it over, yet he was rather taken aback by the notion. "You're right. In fact… I was in the room the whole time it happened. They were pleased with the result of it all, and yet… they merely made notes as to what occurred, nothing more."

"So I was the lab rat"

"Which means they got something bigger in mind."

"Son of a bitch…" growled Snek, yet he sighed aloud. "I guess I will get to see what being a dad is all about like this… and apparently mother too!"

"Actually… Alley had a hunch about this earlier too. You aren't really the mother…" Drax said with a smirk. "She explained that the female merely breeds first and whatever takes she puts into the male for him to keep safe. I guess it's a monster way of passing the buck in a sense."

"Enough about that!" Snek snapped. "God I just want this over with,"

Drax then appeared confused. "About that… How long do they stay with you? Is it anything like Garou?"

"God, I hope not!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The choice was made, and the family supported him. Despite the circumstances of it all, Snek decided that he would keep the brood, much to the delight of the Triplets. "We're going to help you Snek, we're going to be good helpers!" Luna insisted.

Drax then smirked as he leaned down to Luna. "Do you know what a really good helper does?" he asked.

Her eyes widened. "What!" she asked with great excitement.

Drax brought a finger to his lips. "They keep it a secret. No one needs to know my dad is going to have babies okay? You saw what Amai said, some others feel the same way. We don't want that, do we?" he asked.

Luna's eyes widened. "No…" she whispered, then she mimicked Drax, bringing a finger to her lip. "It's a secret!"

Her brother Akira and sister Eclipsa did the same thing. And promised to keep it a hush-hush.

Whether they do it or not is the question!

Alley then approached Snek and explained through her scans and blood work that everything was fine with him. "We will keep an eye on it all, if this gets… noticeable… we will work around it and make sure that no one knows about this okay?" she asked.

He nodded in gratitude.

"So… we're uncles!" Max announced proudly.

"Shut up Max"

#

Draven was oddly close to all of this.

Perhaps it was the side of him that he got from Snek, to keep a close observation of the situation. That or he was finally returning the favor for when he was a small child. Either way, he offered to be Snek's errand boy in a sense. Whatever was needed, he could get to avoid the public eye.

"It's not necessary kid, I can still hunt, I'm good on that" he insisted.

"But, I feel I need to assist however I can. I mean, you took care of me when I was small. I want to help you as a token of thanks."

Snek peered at him, then sighed aloud in surrender. "Okay… fine. You can help me hunt" he announced, just as his stomach rumbled. "Damn it, I already ate today!"

"Welcome to my world…" muttered Garou from the kitchen. "You think you ate enough when in the end, you didn't."

Snek sneered towards Draven's father, but Draven on the other hand was smiling. "Okay Snek, I'll get you something good!" he vowed.

Draven went through the cities, he needed to find something big, meaty and well worth the kill. Most of the cities for the time being were rather clear of monsters, yet there was always City Q.

His family has respected the boundary though with Watchdog Man. It's his city, his domain. However, there have been a spike in attacks as of late and there were always monster lingering about waiting for their moment to strike. With that, Draven walked in and found Watchdog Plaza.

The people were out in droves today as they took pictures and admired their hero from a far. Draven approached the tower as people stopped and stared at him, there were unease looks on their faces. '_You think they would be use to this by now?_' he thought.

He peered up. "Mr. Watchdog man, sir…" he said respectfully.

The former S Class hero peered at him. "One of Garou's pups?" he asked.

Draven smirked. "Yeah, may I have permission to hunt in the city?"

"You can if you want, it's quiet here today." Watchdog explained. "I have to ask you something though… the Association… is your sister organizing it?"

"She has and we are up and running. Would you like her to come and speak with you? We are aware you don't like to leave City Q unprotected."

There was no expression on him. Draven was a little taken aback by it. There was some expression on Saitama's face, yet this was a complete deadpan appearance. "I would like that, I have been constantly asked by these Neo heroes and government people to join them, but they don't respect the notion that City Q is my city."

"I will let her know as soon as I see her. Thank you for letting me hunt here today."

With that, Draven went on his way.

He decided to use his tactics he learned from Zombieman. Always check in the least assuming areas. Monsters tend to wait in shadow and avoid people until they are ready to strike. Big ones are no exception…

#

"So we're doing patrols here, why?"

"You got to get to know the cities, I noticed one thing about you Jag, you are not comfortable in large areas like this" Hunter explained. The two were casually strolling down the street. Hunter was far more relaxed than Jag was. It was true though, considering Jag lived in the mountains, he didn't have to contend with traffic or a lot of people at once like this. Hunter however walked about with great confidence and comfort. His hands were behind his back as he merely leaned his head within them. "Besides, if you are going to learn how to take down monsters, the cities is the better option in my option. Not to mention, you didn't have to lie to me."

Jag froze. "Wh… what do you mean?" he asked.

Hunter turned and smirked. "You couldn't control your own power? Please, don't give me that shit. I saw you move just a few days ago, you didn't need me to train you at all. You were more than capable to fight on your own!" he said and laughed. "Man, Suiryu is right, guys have the worst ideas when it comes to picking up a date!"

Jag suddenly blushed. "Uh… yeah…" he muttered.

"Well, the secret's out, so, care to tell me the real you? You are not the worst hero from your region are you? If I had to guess, you would be one of the top ones huh?"

Once more Jag froze. "Who told you?"

"Well, you did just now. Second, that monster skin you are wearing I doubt would just be given away, and if you were what you had claimed to be, why the hell would you obtain it and not a competent hero if you were the kind that tends to trip over your own feet?"

There was a stunned look on the face of Jag, Hunter figured him out rather quickly and he has barely said anything to him. The son of Garou is no fool by any means, in fact. Jag noticed that they allow people to say what they wished about themselves, only to learn and figure out later if that person is lying or telling the truth. But they don't go for it right away. Which was strange to him.

Hunter let him live this false misconception, until it was time to clear the air sort of speak. "I… I didn't know how else to ask of you to train with me… also to get to spend some time to getting to know you… I was embarrassed." Jag explained.

"I would be too in your situation. I mean, could you imagine me asking a guy out? Not to mention the odd looks I would get…"

Jag smirked. "So… have you been enjoying the relationship? I know it's nothing serious as of yet…"

Hunter smiled once more. "It's been fun and interesting… I mean. I don't even really know what to expect in this kind of partnership. It's still very new to me, I think I am understanding it better though."

The ground suddenly shook!

Hunter was stunned, Jag saw a plume of smoke suddenly come from miles away. "That's city Q!" he announced and was about to rush to the scene.

Hunter however stopped him, taking hold of his shoulder, Jag came to a very sudden halt. "Easy, Watchdog man's turf. He's more capable than people realize. Not to mention, crazy strong. Let's see if he needs help, if so, we will help."

The two made their way to City Q, yet the moment they arrived they found Draven just leaving the city limits, dragging a massive monster in tow! He turned around and shouted his thanks to the former S Class hero. Yet as he turned and saw his brother standing there, Draven merely smiled. "Hey!" he announced. "I found something for Snek!"

"Yeah… a little too much force there little bro. We saw that dirt kick up from a few miles away!"

"Well it wasn't just the one monster either!" he protested. "This was the smallest one I could find that Snek could eat!"

"How many were there?" asked Jag.

Draven thought it over. "Well, there were six, I got three, Watchdog got the rest no problem. Minimal damage to say the least…" Hunter's stomach suddenly rumbled. "I do believe you would be needed for clean up if interest."

"Shut up Draven…" scolded Hunter.

"Well, I am going to bring this to Snek, you two take care!" With that Draven used his esper powers, he began to float up off the ground before taking the monster along with him. Hunter sighed aloud.

"Little brothers…" he muttered. "Well, do you mind a quick check in with Watchdog Man? I think I need something big to eat."

Jag was all for it, he was curious to see how Hunter ate monsters.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"It's moving closer."

"Even after the message sent, it hasn't backed off?"

"No Miss Brawler, in fact, it's started to increase in speed, it's heading towards Earth no matter what."

Alley paused as she took notice of the radar in the lab. The ship was massive, if anything it was clearly twice the size of the ship known as Dark Matter. Question is, why are they coming here?"

"Mother?"

She turned and saw Boros, he too stared at the screen and sighed aloud to it. "There's no other choice is there, we are going to war against them."

"Looks that way, can you think of a reason why they are coming here?" she asked.

He sighed and gave a nod to her. "I don't believe I am the only clone made of Lord Boros, the original." He explained.

The room went very still and very quiet. "HUH!?" the Associate team demanded.

"Well, consider what has happened. The ship was taken apart, there was opportunity for me to have been destroyed in the crash, if something broke through the containment chamber and other variables. There is always a contingency plan to say the least. But I have a feeling that this is more than just a mere coincidence." Boros went to the computer and began to type in some code. The computer screens filled up with various images of ships. "Dark Matter was but one ship in the fleet controlled by the original Lord Boros. I have little doubt on the notion that there is one clone of Boros on each of these ships…" he then began to type in another code, the images of the ship suddenly appeared with an X on them. "Just as I thought."

"Boros?" Alley asked.

"This ship contains a clone, just like me. However, it has gone to the other clones… and destroyed them." He said.

Now even Alley was getting concerned. "So it's coming here for you, isn't it?"

"It appears so, I am the last living clone besides the one on Nova Purge. No doubt it will come here to challenge me, the victor will be the true leader of this fleet. I don't have an interest in fighting, yet I will if they intend on threatening my family!"

Alley sighed aloud to it all. "You can win, can't you?" she asked.

"I have yet to encounter this creature myself. If he is anything like me, it could be a draw, different training and environments will shape the strength of the clone. I have no idea what he has encountered or done to strengthen himself. It could be a difficult battle. But I believe I have the edge."

The room filled with murmurs, Boros however stared at the screen just as a transmission was coming in. He turned to her, wondering what to do. Alley gave a nod. "Bring it up, let's see what they got to say."

He gave a nod and brought the transmission on screen.

He appeared.

The second clone of Lord Boros sat upon a massive chair, smiling wickedly and covered in thick plated armor. "Brother!" he announced. "I have come to inform you that your life will be coming to an end shortly. I am here to take command of the Dark Matter Thieves and continue on the journey of the original that has since passed. You may take your time to prepare your final moments, rest assured. I do not plan on going easy on you. When finished, I will destroy that rock you have been hiding on… and will ensure these creatures fear the name of Lord Boros!"

The transmission cut out as the room stopped and stared at him. Boros was at a loss for words in a sense. Alley wondered what was going through his mind, but then, the same wicked smirk came over his lips. "Let's prepare a welcoming committee for him. He should be here in a less than a year's time. Probably a few months judging by the transmission feed."

"A few months?" Alley asked.

"Even at top speeds, he is quite a distance away. It will be a few months journey before his arrival. In that time, I shall train. I finished my project and must leave it be for some time. As well, I could use a break" he said and stretched himself out. "Perhaps I may ask of sepia Saitama for some training…" With that Boros walked out as if there were nothing to worry about.

Alley couldn't help but share his confidence.

The room however was petrified. "What do we do Miss Brawler?" asked the bearded associate.

She smiled. "Exactly as he says, we prepare a welcoming committee. I want these things to stay on their ships. I refuse to let 106 have a single scrap of alien DNA to have and use to his advantage!"

#

"Oh… you…"

It took him little time to get to City Z, wearing the nano tech suit his mother made him, Boros stood outside of Saitama's apartment and asked to train with him. "Saitama, sir… could I trouble you for a sparring session?"

The door opened a little wider. "Huh? Shouldn't you spar with Garou or something?"

"Sadly… elder is quite ill and has been weakened from the incident with the house of evolution, he isn't fully recovered to say the least. As well, I must prepare for what is yet to come. There is an alien ship approaching for earth, on it is another clone of Lord Boros… this one wishes to end me and finish what was started on this world by the original."

"Dude, twenty words or less!" Saitama scolded.

He rolled his eye. "Very well, ensure I am ready for this battle!"

Saitama sighed. "It wasn't like I was going to do anything anyways today…"

"Just, please don't kill me…"

#

They went to the canyon, however Boros appeared rather leery to it. "Would this contain our battle well enough?" he asked.

"I spar here all the time with Garou and Genos, it should hold. Besides we are far from the city, away from people so no one will get hurt."

Boros nodded as he took down his Nano suit. He stood before Saitama in torn blue jeans and a black T-shirt that said. 'Wasabi' on it.

"Why are you wearing a shirt like that?" Saitama questioned.

"It was comfortable, as well, it doesn't bother the eye on my chest…" he decided to strip his shirt off and stood at the ready.

This alone took Saitama back. "Really? You're going to fight like that? First time I encountered you I had to break your armor off with a punch, and then you unleashed your true power… Are you insulting me or something?"

"NO! Not at all senpai!" Boros stated. "I have merely learned how to control my own power, I wish to see how strong I am as this before I got to the next level… is that okay with you?"

"Sure, whatever, and quit calling me senpai!"

Boros stood ready once more, Saitama merely stood there and announced for him to start whenever he was ready. With a deep breath, Boros charged!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"And that makes eight!"

Draven was out of breath, however he was rather pleased with himself. After returning home with his first kill, Snek got quite hungry. There was no choice but to take him out to hunt. He had just finished a short time ago and made certain Snek was satisfied. Much to his relief, the last monster he brought to him was enough to fill him. "Damn… sorry to make you hunt for all of those… I got to admit though, I didn't think I would have trouble hunting like this…"

It took most of the afternoon, however, Draven notice how much more Snek was eating, as well as how fast they were being digested.

He could eat larger and larger monsters with each passing moment. Some that would appear impossible for him to consume no longer became a problem. By the time he reached his eighth helping, Snek finally appeared full. His metabolism slowed down as he seemed relieved. "Damn it, I can't keep eating like this!" he protested.

"Dad did, I am certain you will be able to, Snek. Besides, perhaps the more you eat the sooner it's over with."

When in public, Draven chose his words carefully out of respect for his friend. He wasn't about to embarrass him in front of the masses with his situation. As they made their way home, Draven announced. "From this point on, I will hunt for you. I don't care what time it is, if you are hungry, let me know!"

Snek was startled by his declaration. "Kid… thanks…" he said and smirked. "You know I appreciate this, I really do."

"Yeah, besides, I think you are going to want to start staying hidden to say the least…" Draven said as he peered down Snek. He began to see ridges near the end of his body, Snek peered for himself but then rolled his eyes.

"Are you shitting me!" he growled.

Draven snickered. "Not a word, I promise!" he said.

Snek began to slither a little faster, wanting to get home before anyone took notice. Draven however was more than obliging to give him an esper lift home. When they arrived, there was a family meeting going on.

Boros was taking charge of it, yet he appeared as if he had gone through hell and back. "Damn kid what happened to you?" Snek asked.

He smirked. "Training, that's all." He insisted. He was covered in scuff marks, however Alley said when he came home he was a blood mess to say the least and was missing an arm and half of his left leg. "I have great healing abilities mother, a missing limb is nothing to me!" he protested.

But then, his stomach roared. "Oh… that's right… healing power does require nourishment…"

"I almost have dinner ready." Announced Pac. "Keep your shirt on…"

"But, I am not wearing one."

"So, what was the meeting about?" asked Draven. "Is it 106 again?"

Alley sighed. "We're about to be really tested here. Aliens are returning to earth once more, they are going to be after Boros and then, they want to finish what the original Dark Matter Thieves started. So, we are going to be ready for them. Right?" asked Alley.

"YEAH!" the house called. As Garou however began to teeter over, Boros was quick to catch him as Melee trembled.

"This illness has me greatly concerned…." Boros muttered. But then he appeared to have an idea. "Mother, how did the elders gain their power? How was it cultivated?" he asked.

It made the room paused. "Why do you wish to know?" asked Hunter.

"I wish to test a theory if the pieces fit to the idea." He explained. So Alley told him. Mother got her power through absorbing, however it is merely temporary.

"She has gained her power after taking it through touch from the S Class, however what made them stick in a sense was that electric charge that coursed through everyone, I guess it burned it into her DNA to say the least…" Alley said offhandedly.

"Ah, and for the elder father?"

"He eats them." She stated.

Boros nodded to the notion. "I see… well then perhaps I can be of assistance somehow. Is there a blade I could use?"

"NOT IN THE HOUSE!" Alley scolded.

Suiryu even stepped in. "I see where you are going with this, but for now there is a time and place for everything. Now isn't quite it, okay bud?"

Boros pouted. "Very well then."

"Besides, you just came back from training with Saitama, you need to relax and regain your strength!" Suiryu said and sat Boros down.

"By the way, you aren't rushing off to your project…" Goliath said offhandedly.

"I have done all I can for the time being, I am taking a break for a while."

"So… what were you working on?" asked Snek.

Boros merely smirked. "I do not reveal my projects until completion, but rest assured, I believe it will be one of my finest works! Now, where is main sustenance?!" he asked aloud.

"For me, I am going to bed…" Snek announced as he slithered off. When he was in his room, all eyes came on Draven.

"Well…" the family demanded.

"Well what?"

"What happened today? You were gone nearly all afternoon. You couldn't have been hunting that long!" said Hunter.

Draven however didn't say anything, which made the room pause. "Huh… you WERE hunting all afternoon?" demanded Garou.

"He was hungry dad…" Draven said as he took his seat. "Besides, who am I to say he's had enough. I have to admit, he is eating a lot bigger things. I didn't have the heart to tell him the two biggest monsters he managed to consume were dragon threats."

"Damn…" muttered Garou. But then, he paused. "Uh… where are the trips?"

"Sleepover tonight." Said Melee. "Genus wanted his kids to have one final taste of childhood before they began to grow again. I overheard him tell Alley it won't be long until they become teenagers."

"Shit, they are going to get heartbroken!" whispered Max.

Alley however had a strange look on her face, the whole table picked up on it as dinner was served. "What's with the look?" asked Suiryu.

"Well… we all changed when we were under pressure or stress, right?" she asked. "What if this will be the trips' trigger to grow up? I can see it happening, after all, they would want to keep their friends, correct?"

"She has a point." Said Goliath. "If that's the case we got to mature them up a little too. I better start educating them…"

"Why do you think we leave them at Genus's place?" asked Melee.

"Huh?" the table demanded.

"Not only are they safe there, but at the same time, they are learning too. Genus has asked Armored Gorilla to take our kids in with what he is teaching the others. We were told recently they have a love of learning. They were a little behind Genus's kids, but are caught up." Said Garou. He smirked too. "I got a feeling Alley is right. Genus has even asked us if we would consider allowing them to go to high school for a year along with Gene, Jason and Misty. None of you guys got the chance to, I wouldn't mind sending the three."

"Man, high school…" Hunter said as he thought it over.

"You are not missing much." Said Drax. "Besides, that place was hell. If you were different they would eat you up!" he warned.

"Well, being what I was, before I became this, I am certain I would send the vibe of 'not unless I eat you first' to them!"

With dinner done, Boros stretched himself out of his chair. "I need to train some more." He announced.

"Can I help?" Suiryu asked.

Boros smiled. "I would be honored if you would, Father, and anyone else. I must be at best before this other Boros arrives. The more insight I have, the quicker I can end this."

With that, a majority of the family went out to the sparring pit. Draven stayed behind to tend to his parents who were showing signs of fatigue once more. "God I wish this would just it over with!"

"Ease there dad, it takes time. You are not immortal!" Draven protested as he helped his parents, one at a time to their room. "Just rest, we can handle this!" he said confidently.

"I'm sure you kids will," his mother sighed.

The two fell asleep. Yet, Draven kept watch outside of the house. He put up an esper barrier to keep the noise down as Boros went all out with his training…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Earlier that day…

"Now, are there any questions?"

Her hand shot right up. Her hand always goes up. "Yes, Luna?"

As her hand slowly descended, she thought over what she wanted to say. "With everything we have been learning, does it mean that our heads have to get bigger to fit everything in?" she asked.

There were few pleasure in life for Armored Gorilla, the curious nature of the children appeared to be one of them. At first, Luna and her siblings would ask silly questions. Yet the more they learned along side of Master's children, they began to ask more complicated ones. Luna has come a long way since he started teaching her. She still asks silly things, yet they have become more meaningful. Perhaps it all occurred the day she and her sibling realized how much Master's children have grown. That was merely a few weeks ago.

"We won't be the same age for much longer." Jason explained gently. He was already getting taller, his features started to fill out as he appeared more and more like 66 with each passing day. "We just wanted to let you know about that."

"But… how can you grow so much bigger quickly? We can do that too… can't we?" asked Eclipsa.

"I don't know if we can," whispered Akira. "We haven't been able to ask mom and dad since they haven't been feeling well."

"Oh…" Eclipsa said as her cheeks turned beet red.

"We can still try!" protested Luna. "They have been doing a lot of learning, which means we have to do a lot of learning too!"

"Yeah!" her siblings announced. However, they paused at the notion. "How… do we learn all the stuff you have been learning?" asked Akira.

"You get a teacher!" said Gene. "Dad's friend teaches us!"

"Could… could he also teach us?"

"I don't know, we have to ask him and he gets busy with the shop." Said Misty. "What if we teach you what we know for now and see if that's enough, if not then we ask teacher!"

They spend the day learning, reading and understanding various things. They did that long before Armored Gorilla took over. The lessons were difficult at first, as the triplets appeared more confused than anything when he explained math and sciences. But slowly, they began to understand. Their minds began to process the information and then retain it.

They were getting rather smart in a short period of time, yet something troubled Eclipsa. "I haven't grown at all!" she announced that day. Even with everything she learned, she found herself unable to grow like the others.

Luna and Akira were in the same position, frustrated to their lack of growth. "Everyone is different." Armored Gorilla explained. "Growth cannot be rush, and you three should know that better than anyone."

There was a pout in the face of Luna who refused to believe it to be so. "We should be as tall as them since we have learned so much!" she protested.

Gorilla smiled to her. She was determined. He would give her that. Not to mention she has a stubbornness worthy of her father. "Perhaps then we should see if you are worthy of growing bigger. How about a test?" he asked.

"BRING IT!" Luna announced.

The test didn't go over quite as well as he had hoped for. Luna had a long ways to go still, yet her development was admirable. Her brother Akira however was grasping the lessons very well. Eclipsa was too, yet wasn't quite as good as her brother's score. The three sighed aloud to it all. "It doesn't happen over night…" whispered Gene. "It takes time, trust us"

"Besides, I think it's time for dinner, and then, we will relax before bedtime. Sounds good?" Armored Gorilla asked.

"YES!" the six cheered.

#

Later that evening.

"Remarkable wouldn't you say?"

"Master, the children have learned quite well, even the ones of Garou was grasping the lessons little by little. They are not as fast as your children of course but they are narrowing that gab between them."

Genus smiled as he peered up the stairs. "I can only hope that Garou's children will catch up to them in age, it would be a terrible shame to see them all separate because of an age difference."

His smile suddenly vanished. "Master?"

"We are no closer to ending 106, he is an eel to say the least. Matters have only worsened today. We are to be invaded once more by the same aliens that took City A off the map."

"Aliens…"

"However, Alley doesn't appear to be too concerned with the aliens invading. In fact, she has preserved a clone that was aboard the ship that invaded the last time. They cloned the leader of that ship, he was quite powerful to say the least and yet Alley and her mate Suiryu have raised it. He has verified there were other copies of the former leader of the Dark Matter Thieves, however, those clones have dwindled down to two now. One is coming here to finish the other off and complete the invasion of earth…."

Armored Gorilla froze to the news. "She isn't concerned?!" he asked with great amazement.

"Not in the least bit and in a sense, neither am I, considering we have an ace in the hole sort of speak in the hero known as Saitama. However, I am starting to grasp the sense that the one she has raised since it was young is more than capable of defeating his counterpart with ease."

"I see… So we shouldn't focus on these creatures then…"

"No, I want the rest of the house of evolution to fall. 106 now will be far more cautious considering he now has Garou's family on edge. He will deploy his underlings now more than anything to gain what he wants, however we are still uncertain to the motives as to what he has done to Snek and why."

Armored Gorilla was a little confused, however did not push his master to reveal any more details. He isn't told much about what happens at the Association, perhaps for good reason too.

#

The sleepover was a success. By the afternoon, Pac came by to pick up his siblings. When he arrived, Luna was still reading and studying. "Not now, I have to get bigger!" she warned her brother.

"Huh?" he muttered in great confusion.

"She is trying to grow her mind so her body grows." Whispered Jason.

"OH!" he announced. "Well, we can do that at home, Goliath can help you too with that Luna, so come on now!"

She was reluctant to leave, however as he did, Armored Gorilla noticed she had grown a little over night. Her shirt didn't quite stretch as far down as it use to…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

As the days went by, Snek began to feel more and more self conscious about himself, matters didn't help much when there were four protruding ridges in his body. He refused to leave the house and let anyone see him in such a state, worst still was when they started moving and he felt every bit of it. "Ugh, is it wrong of me to be disgusted by this?" he asked aloud.

Garou was merely on the couch watching, Snek cringed as he felt the movement once more and it was getting stronger. "I don't think it's going to be much longer now," he said. "Besides, the worst part will be over soon enough. Then, the real fun begins!"

"Yeah, yeah… so… how the hell do I raise snake kids?!" he demanded.

"LANGUAGE!" scolded Luna.

She came storming out of her room with a pout on her face. "You don't say words like that in front of babies!"

Garou smirked. "They aren't born yet sweetheart." He explained gently.

"Still" she said with a hint of attitude in her voice, yet her eyes kept drifting towards Snek's baby ridges. "Snek, you said we get to help right? You promised!"

He rolled his eyes to it all. "Yes, I promised!" he said.

"Good, now I think you need baby stuff. Blankets, pillows, cribs, diapers…" her list went on and on as Snek cringed to the idea that she maybe right on some aspects. He has NO baby stuff what so ever! When Luna finished off her list, she announced she was going back to studying.

Snek was left there stunned silent to say the least. "I got nothing for these kids when they are born!"

"Snek…"

"I got no toys, no clothing, nothing!"

"Snek…."

"I got to go out and get stuff…"

"SNEK!" Garou roared. When he finally got through to Snek he paused. "Take it easy, we kept all the baby stuff from that incident before, we got supplies to say the least and besides, the most important thing for them when they are born is food, water and comfort. That's it. Nothing major."

"Oh… but what about diapers?" he asked.

"Yeah, like you are going to find diapers for serpent children at the supermarket!"

Snek then rolled his eyes to himself, his mind was getting away from him as he forgot already these are not human children. "Right…" he muttered. Letting out a yawn, he decided to turn in for the night, for the past few days all he has done was eat and sleep. But even that tired him out! Slinking to his room he went to sleep rather quickly, perhaps he will have the energy to do stuff tomorrow…

#

The night was a sleepless one.

Not matter what he tried, he couldn't get the rest he needed. Not to mention, his whole body was oddly achy this morning. Snek woke in a haze as he slowly slinked out of the room and went to the kitchen. Garou was up bright and early when he saw him. Instinctively, Snek went for the coffee pot and poured himself a drink. "Really? Back on the coffee wagon already?" Garou questioned.

He wasn't fully awake to realize what he was doing, yet when his eyes drifted down to the hot brew in his cup. Snek shrugged his shoulders. "Finally craving this again, God, I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night. I was so uncomfortable!"

Garou then appeared rather concerned. "Uncomfortable how?" he asked.

"I dunno. Pain throughout my body, like a throbbing sensation that wouldn't go away…" Snek stopped talking as Garou's attention shifted towards the ground, he was staring at the end of Snek's tail. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You don't look the same from yesterday… Snek, could you maybe have…"

"What? No!" he protested, but then froze. He dashed back to his room, he saw nothing there yet his mattress was soiled. Panic began to set in. "Garou…" he said nervously.

"Relax, they can't get very far and I doubt they did," Garou made his way to the room and saw the mess. "Ugh, remind me to ask Alley to replace that for you."

"Later, I got to find them!"

Looking about, Snek tried to pick up a scent or a trail, yet, with the mess in the room it flooded the house with the same smell. "Not good, definitely not good!" he muttered.

Garou then noticed something. From the corner of his eyes he peered down the hall. A small smirk came over him. "Snek, as of late, if something interesting is found… who usually finds it?" he asked. Garou went down the hall and stood before a particular room. Gently he knocked on the door. "Luna…" he smoothly called. "Luna… are you hiding something?"

Snek noticed Luna peering out of her room. She didn't come out any farther but she shook her head to her father. "No daddy," she whispered. Normally she is a lot louder than that. Which only made Snek realize the truth.

"Luna… did you take something that isn't yours last night?" Garou asked. She shook her head no again. "Did you FIND something last night?"

This time, she shied away. She didn't answer which meant, yes, she did. "I'm taking care of them," she whispered. "But you can't be loud, they're sleeping!"

Snek made his way down to her room. Luna opened the door a little wider, from there his heart melted. In hers and in Eclipsa's bed was his brood! They nestled themselves up to Eclipsa, Luna was quick to go back to her bed and snuggle the two she had. "They got cold daddy. I am keeping them warm. They're pudgy, scaly jellybeans," she explained.

"Scaly jellybeans, that's a new one," muttered Garou. But he went in and took a closer look. From where Snek stood, Luna wasn't too far off! His brood did look like little jellybeans! They didn't have the length or appeared serpent as of yet. But they appeared bloated! "Looks like they took what they could from you and stored it for when they are born. Interesting adaptation."

"Garou… why did they leave me? How could they if they can't even slither?" Snek asked.

"Like what Luna said, they were cold. You can't quite offer the heat they needed so they went to look for it. Huh, if I were to guess, it would almost be like how a seal moves across the ground judging by their size. Luna must have found them on her way to the bathroom at night. Good thing too, if they got too cold… who knows." He said. As Garou took a closer look, he noticed Eclipsa shivering. Despite being under layers of blankets, she felt like ice. "This ain't good."

"What? What's happening?"

Garou cringed a little. "Beside I can describe it, your kids are like heat leeches…"

"What…" growled Snek.

"They suck the heat out of the source." He explained and then rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay girls, give them to daddy…"

Luna refused. She braced one close to her. "No! I can do this!" she protested. Yet her lips were turning blue and her teeth began to chatter.

"It's for their own good, daddy can keep warm no matter what. Please, give them to me." He said gently.

Luna sighed as she reluctantly handed the two over in her bed. Eclipsa didn't fight him on the subject and gave the two she held in her bed. Garou then unraveled his serpents. "Okay boys, you know what to do, same as before…" he muttered.

Despite his weakness, the dragons eyes Snek's children. From there the largest of the dragons would grab on to one and pull them in. Garou enclosed around and tucked them into place. "You owe me!" he warned.

Luna however sighed. "How come daddy gets the take care of the scaly Jellybeans?" she demanded.

"Because your daddy can keep warm. You were getting too cold," explained Snek. "Tell you what, when they get older, you can help me. I will need it, does that seem fair?"

Her eyes widened. Luna nodded her head with great excitement. "Can I help too?" asked Eclipsa.

"As I said kid, I need all the help I can get!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It was about the extend Garou could do for Snek.

Despite his weakened state, he could hold on to his kids long enough to warm them up. After, he released them once more and back into the arms of their father. There was something to be savored about the situation. For the first time in a long time, Snek was scared to death. "Uh… wow… I mean… what do I do?" he asked as Garou relaxed on the couch once more.

"Well, names would be nice for your kids, wouldn't they?" Garou asked.

"I wanna hold one!" pleaded Luna.

"Me too!" said Eclipsa.

There was four so it was easy enough to do. Luna got one that was pearl white like its mother before it, but the strange thing was it looked a lot like Snek. "Boy." Garou called out

"Huh?" asked Snek.

"That one's a boy." He said. "Can't you tell?"

"Uh…." Snek muttered.

Garou rolled his eyes. "The one in Luna's hands is a boy. The one you gave to Akira who is also pearl color is a girl. The one in Eclipsa's hands that has your scale color and white circle pattern is a boy. And the one that is pearl color with dark circle pattern is a girl, that's in your hands now!"

Snek still appeared confused. "How…"

"I can smell them from here!" he protested. "Each one has a scent specific to gender." He rolled his eyes to it all and went back to the TV, however he kept looking over as his kids dotted over the new editions.

"I'm going to get you a blanket!" Luna announced and rushed to her room with the little one.

"Luna don't run!" protested Snek.

Akira was content in holding the one in his arms close to him. Same with Eclipsa until strange whimpering came from the brood. "Oh? What's wrong?" Eclipsa asked gently. "Are you hungry… no you got a full tummy… Oh, thirsty!" she announced.

"How…" muttered Snek as Eclipsa passed the infant off to Garou.

"Hold please daddy!" she said and went to the sink.

The triplets had unearthed all the baby stuff, the bottles were washed and ready as Eclipsa made four with cold water. She passed them along as everyone helped get the brood a drink. "Aw look at their tails, they shake them like baby goats!" said Akira.

Garou couldn't help but look and see the tips of their tails wagging about joyously to the drink they were given. He was right, just like little baby goats! After their drink, the four were burped and fell back asleep. However, Snek appeared to have noticed something odd. "None of them have opened their eyes yet," he said. "Should I be worried?"

"Nah," said Garou. "I wouldn't be. They are still babies, and developing. I mean look at them, they are nothing more than fat little jellybeans, as Luna would say."

"But, shouldn't their eyes open?"

Garou rolled his. "Snek, everything is different when we have kids, what should be normal ain't normal. Give it time, Besides, I think it's best that they don't have their eyes opened just yet."

"Huh?" Snek asked with great confusion.

"I'll explain later, for now, just enjoy them"

#

There was a downside to being at home all the time. As they waited and let Alley drones replace the memory foam floor in Snek's room, the triplets found a way to pass the time.

They began singing to Snek's babies tormented Garou for the rest of the day. Worst part it, they took the song Baby Shark, yet made it about them!

"Baby Snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Baby snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Baby snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Baby snake!

Daddy snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Daddy snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Daddy snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Daddy Snake!

Sister snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Sister snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Sister snake! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Sister Snake!"

They would keep singing the song until everyone in Snek's family was covered. Sooner than later it got stuck in his head… Garou cringed to the song. "If I ever find the person who wrote that damn song, I am going to kill them!" he muttered.

It was strange though, as the kids sang it to them, there was a smile that crept over the faces of the little ones. They knew it was a song for them! It lulled them to sleep in no time and the Triplets were very good at putting them to bed. The drones finished in no time, as the new mattress was set into place. It was much firmer than the last one but perfectly comfortable for Snek and the brood.

Snek had adjusted his room too, he had heating mats and blankets for the little ones so they could sleep soundly and in warmth. "Huh, I never thought you would go THIS far to tending to the brood." Garou said offhandedly.

Snek glared at him. "Why wouldn't I!?" he demanded. "They get cold so easily. I can't let the poor things freeze"

"So, do they have names yet?"

"I'm working on that too!"

As the brood fell asleep, the front door opened.

Drax just got home from the Neo Heroes, he has been put on light duty until he is fully cleared to return to patrols. Yet, when he came in the house the triplets warned him to keep quite. "The babies are sleeping!" whispered Eclipsa.

Garou stepped off to the side as Drax rushed to his father's room. There, he saw the four new siblings. "Dad…" he whispered.

"Two brothers and two sisters." Snek explained.

He smiled happily to the news as he continued to peer down at his new siblings. "Wow… that one really looks like mom…" he said pointing to the one with pearl colored scales and long blond hair.

"Yeah… she does… I should call her Angie."

"Yeah, wait, you haven't named them yet?!"

"Not yet… it's hard naming four kids at once!"

"How about Pythan?" Drax suggested. "For one of the boys."

"Ooo keep with the snake names huh?" snickered Garou.

Snek glared at him, but he agreed on the name, that was given to the boy that had the pearl scales and short blond hair. "The other girl, call her Conna." Said Garou.

"Why?"

"Angie Conna… Anaconda? Get it?"

"Get the hell out of here!" Snek scolded and slammed the door in Garou's face.

"Just trying to help…" he muttered.

Little did he realized, Garou's name stuck.

In the end, Snek named his sons Pythan and Bo, his daughters Angie and Conna.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Fatherhood wasn't going to go easy on Snek to say the least. When he went to bed for the night, he assumed it would be smooth sailing. Luna got creative in making diapers for the little ones, she even took her time teaching Snek how to do it! "It's easy!" she announced. "The bigger part of the diaper you want under them, then you tie it from the back, see!" she announced. "Since normally the bum is at the back, but not this time."

"Ah…" Snek said with great uncertainty, but it also helped that these kids have yet to slither, so they wouldn't be wiggling out of their diapers any time soon! Another strange thing about it was this, despite being covered, they have yet to soil themselves. "Is this normal?" he asked of Garou.

He shrugged his shoulders. "You're talking to the guy that ACTED like a diaper to these rugrats. Everyone is different to say the least. Perhaps they are using everything they have to get a growth spurt? I don't really know." He said.

Snek sighed to it all. The children were nestled in and he was about to turn in for the night, yet, by two in the morning, he heard a whimper, then a chain reaction as all four began to cry aloud. "Huh… Oh… right…" he muttered. He checked their diapers, nothing there, they were still plump so they weren't hungry. "Thirsty…" he said to himself.

Slinking to the kitchen, he got four bottles ready of water, he returned and got them all fed, the tricky part was relieving them afterwards. All of them have to be burped!

It was 3:45am when he finally got them comfortable again. Snek then got himself relaxed and back to sleep. But the babies wouldn't settle. Snek felt them toss and turn through the night. They weren't comfortable! He woke and realized that they were too warm, so he brought them close to himself and nestled them under his arms. They cooled off. Yet having them this way as well would let him regulate their body temperature too. Yet for the rest of the morning they slept rather soundly.

"Babies! Babies!" Snek woke to the sound of Luna on the other side of the door, she opened it carefully and tried to sneak in. "Hi babies!" she whispered.

They began to wiggle with excitement. They knew her voice! Snek sighed aloud as he woke for the day and let Luna take one of them. She took Bo and marveled him. "You grew! Good job!" she said proudly.

Snek peered up and noticed Bo's tail got longer, in fact the others grew as well their bodies were starting to extend and losing their jellybean form. Akira and Eclipsa soon came in and each grabbed one of the kids. Snek took the last one as they ventured to the living room. "Babies, babies, babies!" sang Luna.

"Take it easy with them now, they are still little!" warned Snek.

Luna however glared at him. "Of course!" she protested. "I am very careful around babies," Bo however appeared rather content in her arms, as she was just able to place him near her shoulder. He braced himself rather closely to her with a smile on his lips. He was a very content little one for the time being.

"Do you need a drink? I think you need some water!" Luna announced. The triplets appeared to know what his kids needed long before Snek did. Next to wake up was Drax, he let out a yawn and a stretch, but paused as he saw his siblings up. "Hey, can I hold one?" he asked.

Luna passed Bo to him as she got the bottles ready. He got a little fussy in his arms. "Whoa, hey little bro, take it easy!"

He refused to settle, however Eclipsa went over and began to sing the baby snake song again, but this time she included a new verse.

"Big Brother! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Big brother! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Big brother! Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Big brother!"

It settled him rather well. Drax was even impressed. "How did that work?" he asked Snek.

He shrugged his shoulders. "If you figure it out, please, let me know!"

#

"Wow… the boys really look like you"

"No kidding, and the girls really look like Angela." Said Snek.

Melee got her first look at the newborns, the boys were definitely Snek's the features were undeniable. The girls for the most part were their mother to a T. Angie is the spitting image of her to say the lease. Conna has her features, but black hair rather than blond. "It's an interesting mix. Pythan has your feature but Angela's color right? According to you she was pearl white."

Snek nodded. "He has her blond hair too."

"Bo looks just like you too but defiantly has more of you in him, the pearl ring pattern though really pops on him!"

"Don't be here when the triplets sing the baby snake song… you're welcome for the warning!" muttered Garou.

"I already heard it, Luna sang it to me when I got home insisting I learn the words to it." Melee said. "Damn thing is catchy"

"Well the four love it, it keeps them calm and somehow, they know it's about them." Said Snek, but then he paused. "Garou, why did you say I should keep a close eye on the kids?"

He smirked a little. "Well, according to Alley. When monster babies are able to open their eyes, they usually make a run for it from their parental guardian. Since normally, the male will eat rivals." He explained.

"Wait, what! I ain't going to do that!" Snek protested.

"I know that, but they don't! Snek, you need to remember, these kids are BORN monsters, it's a natural instinct they have. When they see you for the first time, they are probably going to run."

"What…" Snek muttered. "You're kidding me…"

"Look, as far as serpents go, you got to be one of the strongest. I think Child Emperor said before that your stats were impressive, and he faced a monster called Eyesight. She had poison to use against her enemies, but you, you're all power!" explained Melee.

"But what the hell makes them think I am going to eat them?"

"Because, they will see how big and strong you are. It's going to scare them," said Garou. "My kids didn't run since they didn't have much of a choice. I kept them contained in me. When they got out, I guess their minds already figured out I wasn't going to eat them…"

"Not helping my situation here!" snapped Snek. "Seriously…"

"Just keep an eye on them Snek, we're here to help too however we can." Said Melee.

"Thanks…" he muttered.

#

For the next week, he would watch and marvel as the children grew. Not just his though. The triplets too! He swore they were aging by the day, they were eight last week, this week they are ten years old! Goliath has stepped up their studying to say the least, as their minds began to mature at a quickened pace, but they always took time for Snek's kids. They would play and lull them to sleep each and every day like a happy chore. Snek saw that his children were thinning out and getting longer by the day. In fact, he checked them this morning and saw that they were a good four feet in length! "Well done kids," he whispered to them one night.

#

It was a strange sight.

The moment they became aware of how long they were, Snek's children began to coil themselves into cute little balls… at least according to Luna she said they are cute. "Aww! Look, they are hugging themselves to feel comfortable!" she cooed. Luna didn't hesitate as she picked one off the ground and began to cuddle it. "So cute!"

"I swear to God, that one ain't mine. Everything is adorable to her," muttered Garou.

Snek laughed but he was grateful for the triplets, all they want to do is help, and because of them, he makes certain that all his new children get the proper care they need. Eclipsa and Akira joined her in picking one of the kids up off the ground and holding them rather affectionately. Snek got the last one and did the same. They were cute looking. Yet he still wondered if he did the right thing. After all, knowing how they came about, and the reason for it. A part of him felt perhaps he shouldn't have gone through with it.

"I know that look," said Garou. "Luna can you hold two of them?"

She smiled as she tucked her shirt into her pants, she them placed one of the kids into her shirt and smiled as her now free hands were able to the other from Snek. Garou rolled his eyes as Snek gave her the child he held. "You and me, outside for a moment. Kids, keep them warm and safe got it?" he ordered.

"Of course daddy!" said Eclipsa. "Let's go sit in the play room!"

The kids left as Garou nudged for Snek to follow him outside. He knew he was going to get a talking to in some form or another. He was oddly silent as they began to move farther and farther from the house. When it was no longer seen, he finally spoke. "Why the hell are you having second thoughts now!?" Garou demanded of him.

Snek froze and yet he sighed to it all. "It's just really hitting me now how they came to be and why… I don't want to see anything happen to them Garou, but I am worried if I made the right choice or not. If they weren't here, then I wouldn't have to be concerned about them being used. But on the other hand… it's the small pieces of Angela I have left in this world. Drax love them, don't get me wrong, I do too… but was I being too greedy in having them considering the circumstances?"

Garou froze. "Huh?" he asked in great confusion.

"I mean… Garou, what the hell am I doing!?"

"Oh… you reached THAT stage."

"THAT stage?"

Garou nodded. "I had that with the first set of triplets. I was wondering to myself…" he paused as he looked about, they were far from the house so he could swear without having to be lectured about it later. "I was wondering to myself. 'Garou, that the fuck are you doing?' over and over again. I mean look at me, I was the goddamn human monster. I sent chills down the spines of many, and made the Heroes association panic… and I was going to have kids," he stated bluntly. "Now, what the hell kind of father could I be? What would my children turn out to become? Thank GOD they came out the way they did, I got strong and yet respectful children, despite the hell they themselves have gone through time and time again. A part of me worried that they would resent their mother and I for what they are."

"Garou…" Snek muttered. "I had no idea…"

"Don't go spreading it around, I still got some reputation to keep intact mind you!"

Snek nodded. "Any regrets?"

He sighed. "I wish I never became this… I wish I didn't turn Melee when I was desperate to save her from the venom of that goddamn monster that bit her… I would have liked for my kids to have a normal life. In a sense, I know if I did have normal kids, you wouldn't be like this. Nor would Max and Suiryu."

A small smirk came over Snek. "I don't quite look at it like that, sure that could be the reason why I am the way I am, hell it probably is! I know if it weren't for this… I wouldn't have found Angela… I wouldn't have met my son, I wouldn't know he existed at all!"

"Take the good with the bad huh?" Garou muttered yet smirk at the notion, but then he became serious. "I would be concerned about one thing with those four. They don't know what it is to be human. Their parents are half monsters, therefor it is all they know how to be. You will have to teach them empathy. We have all been human at one point or another in the house, hell even my own kids had that opportunity. You're haven't, I don't think they will either. You will have to keep a close eye on them, understand?"

He could only nod his head. "Do… you think I did the right thing?" Snek asked.

Garou shrugged. "If I had been in your shoes, I would have done the same thing if it would have given the a little more of Melee to love had something happened to her… then again if something did, I would have gone ape shit and I am certain a good portion of the super continent would be destroyed." He said offhandedly.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." Said Snek. "I pray to God that day never happens."

"Yeah… would be cool though… Anyway. Just keep an eye on your kids Snek, also, when they open their eyes, keep an extra close eye. I got a feeling they are going to run away when they see you…"

"You warned me about that already, I get it, be prepared!" Snek snapped back.

"We better head back before Luna tries to tuck all your kids in her shirt again… she keeps stretching out those sweaters… it's not fun going clothing shopping with that girl!"

#

Later that night...

He settled in to rest, his children tucked under his arm as he fell asleep. Yet, throughout the night, he felt them toss and turn until their bodies slipped out from under his arms. "Huh?" he muttered. As his eyes opened, he saw the tip of one of their tails vanish out the door! "Goddamn it Garou was right" he growled.

As Snek rose to retrieve them, he was stunned to see Garou already up. "Hold it" he warned.

"They escaped!" Snek protested.

"Yeah… give them a head start."

"What!"

"Trust me," Garou insisted.

"We're going to help too!"

He turned and found nearly half the house was up, however the key to getting the kids back were just waking now…


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Pythan was the first to open his eyes. The world was dark and a blur at first, yet he was slowly able to convince himself to wake. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, he began to see a little bit of light and then, that light revealed what was before him. The little serpent boy froze, he stared into the face of a massive monster! At first he panicked and nearly tried to wrench himself free, however he calmed down enough to see he wasn't grabbed on to, merely pinned. Also, the monster wasn't awake but sound asleep. He soon felt movement near by. Looking about, he found he wasn't the only one trapped. His siblings had woken up before him, but all of them were just as scared as he was.

They needed to escape!

Silently, he and his siblings pooled their strength as they managed to force the arm off. The moment they gained freedom, they made a mad rush for the door. The glided across familiar floors, it was the first time he had seen them up close, the smooth texture made it easy to slip and slide through the strange prison. But there were smells that made him nervous. Despite that large monster he saw, there were bigger ones within! He managed to get to the front door yet pause, as he saw no one else with him. He turned and found the three froze. His siblings however appeared too scared to go much farther, he was more adventurous, and waved them on towards the front door. With teamwork, they used each other to climb to the knob, twist it and escape into the night.

They were on their own now. Going back meant certain death.

He led the charge through the thick of the woods, following the scent from a trail it revealed a path that has taken many too and from the house, it would also be the pathway of escaping.

With a brave face he led them out and away from the house, the outside world was far rougher than he anticipated. Pythan noticed how uncomfortable his siblings were. He was too. The ground was jagged, pointy and rather hard compared to the prison they escaped from. Yet there was no choice but to go on. He watched as they got use to the uneven and loose earth, however, he came to his first obstacle. Stairs!

He had never seen such strange ridges before, his siblings appeared nervous, his brother Bo kept close to his sisters to protect them, as Pythan was the leader. He stared down the steps but gulped his fear as he slowly eased himself down. One step, Pythan found his body was able to stretch down and yet grip each stair with great ease, he turned to his siblings and gave the nod of approval, it was safe.

The four eased themselves down, one step at a time until they reached the bottom. With their bodies on flat earth once more Pythan looked up and down the street, trying to decide where to go.

He went North.

They all kept close as they tried to find their way in the darkness, he heard one of his sister weep in fear. He turned and saw Conna shaking, her eyes kept turning back towards the mountain, but he shook his head no to her. Too dangerous. He figured they might have escaped in the nick of time. How many siblings came before them that were devoured by the great beast? They would surely have been killed if they didn't leave while they could.

The only option is forward.

He reached back and took her hand, a warm smile came over him as he tried to show his courage. He would protect her. But, just as she smiled back, he felt a strange sensation in the ground.

Pythan got defensive as massive beasts began to appear and gather around them. "Look here boys, a midnight snack!"

"Ooo, nice little bite size delights to say the least!"

There were eight of these creatures and they had them surrounded! Pythan arched himself, hissing and trying to bare what little of his fangs he had. One monster reached for him when he struck! He knows he broke skin, but nothing more. His brother coiled around his sister as he stood bravely before the monsters. Pythan however was grabbed by the biggest one. "Looks like I get the first bite!" he teasingly held Pythan by the tip of his tail and then dangled him over his open jaws! Pythan tried to get out of the grasp, he tried to strike but was too short to hit anything as he was lowered down into the jaws of the beast! He trembled as he was just about to reach it's lips when suddenly, the monster gasped. Something powerful wrapped around its neck!

"Let… go… of my son!"

He was dropped to the ground, the landing a little harsh, but he quickly back up to his siblings. Suddenly, a massive snake body surrounded them, Pythan froze as the monster he and his siblings ran from… was now protecting them!

But not just him, other monsters suddenly appeared and took the eight down without hesitation. Yet, the startling sight was the creature who saved them, began to swallow down the creatures whole!

They were next.

Pythan knew they were, he looked about desperate to escape when the massive serpent turned to them. He didn't appear threatening, but instead, he let them out of his barrier. The four froze, unable to understand what was happening.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

The voice, Pythan knew the voice! He looked and saw a young creature with white hair standing on end. Her arms crossed. "What were you thinking running off like that! You could have been hurt or worst!" she scolded.

He couldn't hide it anymore. Pythan dashed to her, his body coiled around and he embraced her tightly. Despite being unable to see, her voice and her embrace was something he knew he could trust. She was quick to return the hug. "There, there, you don't have to be scared anymore. You daddy saved you!"

He froze, suddenly his eyes shifted to the massive creature that stared at him. He then turned to the white haired girl, and then pointed to the serpent man, and then to his own mouth. "What? You think he's going to eat you? Daddies don't eat babies!" she laughed.

Daddy… is that what he is?

Pythan turned to him, uncertain to what he just learned. His siblings were since taken in by the two other familiar voices. Yet, they kept turning and staring at the large serpent man.

#

"I don't think they trust me still…" Snek muttered.

"Give it time, you are turning their whole concept on its head right now!" protested Max. "They may not know that you are not out to harm them."

Snek kept looking down at them, but all they did was tuck themselves in towards the triplets. Akira held Conna and Angie, Eclipsa had Bo. He sighed aloud to it all, until Luna came up to Snek with Pythan in her arms. He clenched on to her tightly in fear. "Look, he won't hurt you." She promised. She reached for Snek's hand and placed on the back of Pythan. He froze to the touch but slowly turned and stared at him.

"Let's not rush him." Snek said gently. "I'm scary to look at I know…"

"But you're their daddy!" she protested. "Babies shouldn't be afraid of their daddy!"

"This is a little different," he said gently to her. "Let's get them back home first and calm them down, they went through a lot."

Luna sighed but nodded in agreement.

On the way home, he found the kids were looking about. They stared at Goliath oddly, then Max, Suiryu and Hunter. They then took notice of the Triplets, staring at them strangely. Where they figuring out that the triplets had siblings? Did they see that they weren't eaten? When they got everyone home, their coils got tighter. Garou was waiting for their return.

"Hi daddy!" cheered Luna.

"Hi sweetheart, you found them okay?"

"Yes, but daddy, they are scared of Snek. That's not right!" she protested.

Suddenly, the four appeared calmer. Their eyes gazed back to Snek, Pythan even uncoiled from Luna and approached him with a brave face. The two stared down at each other. Granted, his son was no bigger than a pool noodle, then again, he was smaller than that! Snek knew he appeared massive to him, part of the reason why he ran away. But, suddenly, his arms reached up to him.

Pythan wanted to be picked up!

With great care, he leaned down and gently lifted his son off the ground, the two locked eyes as Snek brought him close. "See, I'm not a bad guy!" he whispered gently.

Luna suddenly poked Snek. "Sing it!" she whispered.

'_Oh God, I got to don't I?_' he thought.

With a sigh, Snek hummed Baby Snake. "No, sing it!" she protested.

He gave in, and began to sing it. Pythan suddenly began to coil around him a little tighter, then the others children began to reach for him! He was able to take all four into his arm as they began to relax and feel more at ease. "What brought this on?" he asked.

"Me," said Garou. "They know I am stronger than you, and they took notice of my own children, and none of them have been eaten," he said. "They figured out that if I didn't eat my kids, you won't eat yours."

He sighed with relief. "I sure hope that's the case!" He found them drifting off to sleep. "Thanks everyone, I'll get them back to bed."

With that, he retreated back to his room. He got the kids all situated and tucked in before falling back asleep himself.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

They slept through the night.

Snek woke rather refreshed the next day, yet as he looked to his brood, he paused oddly. "How did they get fat again!?" he muttered.

The kids were all bloated like when he first encountered them, yet still, they slept rather soundly to say the least. He couldn't quite figure it out, but there was a time and a place for that. Instead, he noticed a strange looking harness in his room, left for him by Alley. 'Tuck them into here if you want to get out of the house today. Best to keep them close so they get use to you, Alley."

Snek sighed as he realized he didn't have much of an option. The harness was easy to put on, it simply slid over the top and had straps and buckles at the side, when secured he took the kids one at a time and tucked them into the designated area. Two fit on the front, the other to have to go on his back. But, he needed help for that. With a sigh, he grabbed Bo and Pythan off the floor and ventured out. "Can I get some help?" he asked gently.

Suiryu was home and having something to eat, he smirked as he saw the brood but helped Snek with them. He tucked the boy at the back and smiled. "Cute… but how did they get fat?" he asked.

"Hell if I know!" said Snek. "Everyone else gone or something?"

"At the association. I stuck around just in case you were wondering about everyone else. Wanna go? Alley is just going over a few things with the heroes, you may want to get some time to move about before they wake up again."

He shrugged his shoulders. "What the hell, let's go."

#

"Mommy and daddy are getting a check up, aren't they?"

Luna was inquisitive as always, Goliath smiled to her. "Yes, they are. They should have recovered by now from this." He said, but the last part he whispered to himself.

He decided to bring the Triplets to the association to study a little more. He knows they are growing at a steady rate, it won't be long until they begin to mature. Yet, along the way to the library Alley had, Eclipsa paused. There was someone lingering in the halls. "Zombieman?" she asked.

Yet, the person she looked to, turned. He was the spitting image of Zombieman but had proper flesh tone skin! His cheeks turned red as he looked to Eclipsa.

"Hi Jason," Goliath said.

His sister froze. "Jason!" she said with great amazement.

"Hi… Eclipsa… I sort of grew…" he explained in a nervous tone.

"Not just him!"

Goliath's siblings froze as Gene and Misty approached. Gene cut his hair rather short yet brushed it back and out of his eyes. Misty's hair grew long, nearly down to her backside. "HOW!?" demanded Luna.

"Dad said our minds got bigger, so our bodies did." Gene explained.

Goliath thought it was strange as Akira approached Jason, and he measured his hand against his. "You grew that much?" he asked.

Jason smiled as warmly as he could, but Goliath could tell by the look in his eyes, he didn't want to grow up so quickly. His gaze would shift to Eclipsa who stared at him bewildered to say the least. Yet, before another word could be said, Luna had a firm grasp on Goliath's arm. "Let's go! We got to catch up!" she protested.

His siblings soon dragged him down the hall! There was no choice now, they were determined to study and catch up to their friends!

#

Snek entered the association with his brood. They were still sound asleep when they got there, but the moment he passed the doors, they woke. He felt their arms grasp on to him desperately, their hearts racing in their chests. There must be so many new sights and smells bombarding their senses. "It's okay, we're among friends." He said gently.

Their grasps lightened a little as they began to look about. He felt Pythan and Bo leaning on his shoulders, pushing themselves up to see everything around them. "Easy boys! Relax, you'll see everything!" he said.

"Snek? Who are they?!"

He paused and turned to see a group of heroes freeze at the sight of his kids. "Oh right, I never told anyone…" he muttered.

"Whoa, those two look like you!" said Tank Top Tiger.

"Well, they should! They are my sons!" he protested.

"WHAT!?" the heroes demanded.

"Indeed… what…" he cringed to the sound of Amai Mask. He approached fearlessly as he stared down the little ones. He looked sick. "You actually kept them?" he demanded in a disgusted tone.

"My kids… my responsibility" Snek replied. "I don't need your permission anyways."

"You do realize the circumstances of their births are not in your favor… let alone something you, yourself planned for."

"Back off, they are just kids!" protested Muman Rider.

Amai turned on his heels rather abruptly. "Do you know the situation of these… little ones?" he asked.

No one said a word, no one knew. "Doesn't matter, none of our business, they are Snek's kids!" said Tank Top Tiger. "So, that means it's none of your business either huh?"

Amai glared at him, but then smiled. "So be it…" he walked off without another word, yet Snek was surprised to the support he got from the Tank Tops and Muman.

"Thanks." He said gratefully.

"Yeah well, sometimes someone like him needs to be ganged up on every so often…" Tiger paused. "Far be it from me for asking, but… how did these little guys come about?"

Snek sighed. "I rather not talk about it."

"Fair enough. So, we going on patrol or what Muman!"

"Right! Move out!"

Snek watched them leave, yet he saw his kids staring on with fascination, they all looked back at him. "See, we got friends here. No one is going to hurt you while I am around okay?"

They relaxed once more, Snek figured it would be best to get them out and about. Perhaps it will help their social skills better…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"I am still trying to figure this out, it has gone on far too long hasn't it?" said Genus.

Garou sneered as he turned away. Melee wasn't the least bit thrilled either. "Needless to say," she muttered. "But, how could it? What exactly did this do to us?" she asked.

Genus brought it up on a computer. The substance injected into them appeared like tar and it was within the blood stream, however he has determined that the substance is an inhibitor. "Consider this, Garou, Melee, this is preventing you from getting nutrients into your body, the serum injected into you had gathered in the digestive track and is allowing very little to get by and feed your bodies. It also explains why you two get violently ill every so often. That is what has been digested but unable to absorb into yourselves."

"He's starving us, isn't he?" Garou whispered.

Genus nodded. "I have working on the reversal of this, yet I have to be cautious, I know the moment you are injected with a countermeasure, it can backfire if it isn't don't properly. For example, if I were to give you something now, it could very well rush through your system…"

"We would be sick on both ends," said Garou.

"Gah! You had to say that out loud!" protested Melee.

"As disturbing of a notion it is, he is right. That and what I give may not work either. 106 has learned, just like the last time he has put something into this to as a precaution. When the serum he injected into me, there was a mitochondria embedded into a cell that ate away at my youth serum. If it wasn't dealt with, the cell bursts… the cells were in every inch of my body, it would have destroyed me from the inside."

"Oh…" muttered Melee.

"So, what the hell do we do?" demanded Garou. "We can't just sit here and take this, let alone starve to death doing so!"

"Alley has made a liquid drink for the both of you to keep your energy up. This affect solid food, liquids are not affected by this. Give me time and I will crack it, I promise you!" he vowed.

Garou nodded. "Thanks…" he said offhandedly.

Genus nodded. "You two best be getting something then, bide your time until I have a surefire way that this is safe for you…" he paused oddly. "I've been meaning to ask about Snek…"

"Oh, he's fine. Four healthy kids!" Melee said proudly.

Genus appeared impressed. "Interesting, did they open their eyes yet? Have they reacted well to him?"

"They did try and run away." Snickered Garou. "But the kids, Snek, Suiryu and Max saved before a bunch of monster tried to eat them."

Genus froze. "You let them run away!?" he demanded.

"Yeah,"

"GAROU!" scolded Melee.

"They would keep running away Melee!" he protested. "You got to look at it from their perspective. They are born monsters! What would you do if you saw a massive creature clearly 1000 times your own size right in front of you?"

She paused. "Point taken."

"Besides, it would have done him no good to keep them captive, he would have lost the chance to earn their trust." He muttered.

"Oh look at them!"

"SO CUTE!"

"Speak of the devil and his minions." Snickered Garou.

The three of them ventured into the halls, Snek was proudly displaying his brood as heroes gathered around and cooed at them. "Oh Snek! They are cute! How did these little munchkins come about?" asked Stinger.

"Long story, not ready to tell it yet. I just got them to trust me in a sense, although I cannot figure out how they got fat. They were thin yesterday, woke up this morning and they are like scaly water balloons!"

Garou snickered as he approached. The four took notice of him instantly, but they weren't as scared as before of him. "They all got the family look. Your sons though… damn they are you"

Snek smiled. "Yeah… they are…" he paused. "You two doing okay?"

"We'll manage." He said.

"FATHER!"

Suddenly, every head turned as they saw three young teenagers approach. Suddenly, everyone went pale to the sight of a properly flesh tone Zombieman! Genus however smiled as he stepped forward. "Enjoying your tour Jason, Gene, Misty?" he asked.

"Everything is fascinating father!" said Gene. "I want to learn all about it, the technology in this place is beyond compare!"

"It is rather enthralling to see," said Jason.

"Remarkable actually," chimed Misty.

"Uh… Why does Zombieman look like a teenager and answer to the same of Jason?" whispered Death Gatling.

Jason turned and whispered. "Because, I am not Zombieman"

Misty and Gene snickered as Genus rolled his eyes. "Enough you three, I thought you were going over high schools and seeing where you wanted to go for the year!" Genus protested.

"That and learn a musical instrument… help out at the restaurant…" said Misty.

"There is much to do, perhaps we should leave father to his work yes?" asked Gene.

"We're going to head off father, take care and see you when you get back!" called Jason.

With that, his children were off. Genus however leaned in to Garou and whispered. "Will your three be joining my children in the age group soon?"

He shrugged. "You would have to ask them"

#

"I will need your help, now more than ever… if you can and if you wish to."

Boros approached the sons of Garou, each with their own unique skills and abilities that the others may not possess. He wants to be ready for when the armada arrives, the battle needs to be swift to prevent any one from perishing in the conflict, but he knows his skills have to improve. Brute strength was one thing, however to stay ahead of his enemies, he needs to be cunning and skillful. Like Garou and his family. The brothers exchanged looks among each other, but then Hunter smirked. "Of course!" he announced. "You're like family, family helps family!"

Boros smiled. "I appreciate it. Your father has done well in training me to maintain and control my power, but now, I need the skills to use it. I wish Luna was a little taller, she is a great sparring partner."

"She kicked your ass!" warned Draven.

"Indeed, what better motivation to have to improve than to be bested by a fine warrior such as her?" His voice filled with admiration for her, which appeared to have startled the brothers a little. "Did… I say something wrong?"

They awkwardly shook their heads no for the moment, Hunter then cleared his throat abruptly. "Okay, if we are going to do this then, how do you want to proceed?"

Boros grinned. "I want to face all of you at once and then one on one!"

The brothers once more exchanged a strange look. They then smiled. "Well, if it's going to help you, I say we go for it, but we need Goliath and he's looking after the sprouts."

"Sprouts?" asked Boros.

"Little siblings."

"Oh… they can join too!" he said.

"Uh… NO" announced Draven. "Unlike us, they won't be able to read each other when moving fast. We can and anticipate the other's movement. They can watch, but can't join the battle."

He sighed to it all. "Very well." He said, but then that infamous smile crept over his face. "Let's begin!"


End file.
